A 54-year-old man was swept into the ocean with a young girl on Saturday afternoon at Half Moon Bay, spurring a search by air and boat crews.
The 5-year-old girl was recovered at Martin’s Beach by San Mateo County Fire personnel and taken to a nearby hospital, but U.S. Coast Guard crews were still searching for the man as of Sunday morning. The Coast Guard said in a statement that it did not have information about the condition of the rescued girl.
The National Weather Service warned this weekend that a broad stretch of the California coast from Point Reyes to Big Sur is at risk of “sneaker waves” that can sweep across beaches without warning, pulling people into the sea and moving logs and other heavy objects that can crush people. It urged everyone to stay out of the ocean and warned that people could be yanked into the water from jetties, rocks and beaches.
The U.S. Coast Guard launched its search on Saturday after receiving a report about the incident at 1:20 p.m., dispatching a 47-foot motor lifeboat and a helicopter to the area, according to the agency. An 87-foot patrol boat was also sent to Half Moon Bay on Saturday night.