The US Coast Guard announced that it has suspended its search for a 24-year-old woman who is believed to have been swept out to sea in California.
The woman, identified as 24-year-old Senah Park, was last seen near Panther state beach in Santa Cruz county at about 8.30pm local time on Sunday, authorities said earlier this week.
In a statement, the Santa Cruz county sheriff’s office said deputies responded to the beach at about 8pm on Sunday night, after receiving a report “of a woman who was believed to have been swept into the ocean”.
According to the sheriff’s office, a group of friends were on the beach when an “incoming tide knocked several of them over”. During that incident, Park “is believed to have been swept out to sea”, they said.
The San Mateo-Santa Cruz unit of California Fire CZU said firefighters were dispatched to the beach at about 8.30pm on Sunday. The unit said: “Four people had gone through the keyhole on the beach and when the tide rose, they became trapped.”
“Three people were able to escape the rising tide,” they said, adding: “One person, described as a woman in her twenties, was not able to escape and was believed to have been swept out to sea.”
Authorities said that an “extensive search” began on Sunday night, involving drones, ground crews, helicopters, and search and rescue teams.
In an update issued on Tuesday, the sheriff’s office said that its “fixed wing Air Unit and Drone Team have been searching the coastline and surrounding waters” for Park.
“While there are no significant updates to share at this time, our thoughts are with Senah’s family and friends during this incredibly difficult time,” the sheriff’s office statement on Tuesday said.
In a separate statement on Tuesday, the US Coast Guard said watchstanders at its San Francisco command center received a notification on Sunday night from Santa Cruz fire department personnel “of a confirmed person in the water near Panther State Beach”.
The Coast Guard said that watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and coordinated the launch of a 47ft motor lifeboat crew and MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew for the search.
The agency said that it also coordinated “eight hours of search efforts across 95 square miles” and deployed assets including helicopter aircrews, boat crews, drones and more.
But, in the statement on Tuesday, the Coast Guard said that it had “suspended its search” on Monday afternoon.
“Suspending a search is a difficult decision,” Lt Max Holloway, San Francisco sector search and rescue mission coordinator, said in a statement on Tuesday. “Given the extensive search effort of the surrounding area and environmental conditions, we have suspended active search efforts pending further developments.
“We worked closely with our partner agencies and exhausted all available resources in our attempt to locate Ms Park,” he added. “Our deepest condolences are with her family and loved ones.”
The announcement comes as the National Weather Service’s San Francisco Bay Area and Monterey office warned on Tuesday that high surf is expected this coming weekend, with “dangerously large breaking waves” of between 20 and 30ft expected.
“It is highly advisable to stay away from beaches and off of jetties, piers, and rocks,” the NWS office said. “Remain out of the water. Never turn your back to the ocean!”
It also comes as in recent weeks parts of California have experienced historic high tides and record-breaking water levels, as the impacts of an exceptionally strong and still-strengthening El Niño continue to unfold.
