Photo: Yiming Chen / Moment / Getty Images
A tragic incident at Garrapata State Beach in Monterey County, California, resulted in the death of a father and the disappearance of his five-year-old daughter on Friday (November 14). The family was swept into the ocean by waves estimated to be 15 to 20 feet high. The Monterey County Sheriff's Office reported that the father attempted to rescue his daughter, who was pulled into the ocean near Highway 1. An off-duty State Parks peace officer and lifeguard managed to pull the father from the water and performed CPR, but he was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
The child's mother also entered the water in an attempt to save her daughter and husband but managed to return to shore on her own. She was hospitalized in stable condition with mild hypothermia. The family's two-year-old child was not harmed.
A multiagency rescue effort, involving the U.S. Coast Guard, California State Parks, Cal Fire, and Monterey County Search and Rescue, is ongoing to locate the missing girl. Helicopters from the Coast Guard, California Highway Patrol, and U.S. Naval Air Station Lemoore are assisting in the search, which continued into Saturday morning.