Body of 7 year old girl swept out to sea along Garrapata Beach washes ashore after her dad drowned trying to save her according to California officials.
California authorities say a child’s body that washed ashore matches the description of a 7-year-old girl who was swept out to sea in Big Sur on Friday.
Mid Coast Fire Brigade Fire Chief Cheryl Goetz said the body washed ashore at around 1:25 p.m. Sunday, along Garrapata Beach KSBW reported.
The body will be transported back to the city of Salinas to be formally identified by the coroner, officials said.
Canadian day drowns trying to save 7 year old daughter swept out to sea along Big Sur
The child was initially reported to be 5 years old. Family members who arrived in the area have clarified that she was 7 according to a Sunday update from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
The man who died while trying to rescue his daughter on Friday was identified as the girl’s father, Yuji Hu, 39, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, according to a Saturday Facebook release from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
Hu was pulled into the ocean after his 5-year-old daughter was swept off the shoreline after waves of up to 15-20 feet crashing along the shoreline on Friday, November 14 at Garrapata State Park. His wife entered the water to help but was unable to reach them; she made it back to shore and was taken to a hospital for hypothermia.
A 2-year-old child was unharmed.
A beach visitor and an off-duty California State Parks officer pulled Hu from the water and began CPR only for the parent to later be pronounced dead at hospital. At the time, just on 12.50 p.m, Friday, the officer reported seeing the man and woman struggling to get back to shore according to a California State Parks release.
A large-scale search ran through Friday and Saturday, WRAL reported.
Weather advisory had warned of beach hazards ahead of tragedy
The three family members had been swept out from the shore following a large storm passing though creating a large swell and generated very large waves.
‘The storm that passed through created a large swell that’s generated very big waves here,’ said Mike Dippel, chief ranger with State Parks.
Leading into the tragedy, the National Weather Service had issued a ‘beach hazards warning,’ advising beachgoers to watch out for unexpected large waves, through Nov. 14, SFGate reported.
Not immediately clear is whether the advisory had been posted along the beach or whether State Park officials had opted to close the beach.
Garrapata State Park officials have since issued an advisory reminding beach visitors to never turn their back to the ocean.
