Three People Swept into Ocean at Garrapata State Park
Two Survive, Search and Recovery Mission Ongoing for Third Person
Contacts:
California State Parks
Newsroom@parks.ca.gov
Monterey County Sheriff’s Office
rosasae@countyofmonterey.gov
(831) 261-5492
California State Park lifeguards search for a man swept into the ocean on Saturday, Nov. 22, at Soberanes Point, Garrapata State Park. Photo from California State Parks.
BIG SUR – California State Parks, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office, CAL FIRE and the U.S. Coast Guard searched tonight for a missing man, approximately 30-years old, who was swept into the water at Garrapata State Park this afternoon.
At around 3 p.m. today, State Park Peace Officers and lifeguards responded to Soberanes Point, Garrapata State Park, for a report of three people (two women and one man) swept off the rocks into the ocean. The two women were able to self-rescue and were taken by ambulance to a hospital with unknown injuries.
At around 4:24 p.m., a US Coast Guard helicopter spotted what appeared to be a body in the ocean but due to the high surf, lost visual. Divers with the US Coast Guard and State Parks have not been able to recover the body yet.
Search efforts continued until 7 p.m. Due to darkness and safety concerns for the first responders, search efforts were suspended. Search and recovery efforts will resume tomorrow morning. The name of the missing man has not been released.
In addition to State Parks, multiple agencies including Monterey County Sheriff’s Office and its Search and Rescue unit, CAL FIRE, CHP and US Coast Guard assisted with the search efforts this afternoon.
This incident comes just a week after a 39-year-old father and his 7-year-old daughter, visiting from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, died after being swept into the ocean by 15-to-20-foot waves, at the same park.
There is a current beach hazards warning in the Big Sur area with breaking waves of 13 to 18 feet. State Parks and allied agencies remind the public to stay off rocks and away from the water’s edge. Ocean waves are unpredictable and pose a safety hazard to the public.
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