Don't turn your back to the ocean...

Girl, 5, dies after being swept into Half Moon Bay amid sneaker wave warning

By Katie Dowd

A man and a young child were swept into Half Moon Bay Saturday amid a sneaker wave warning issued for parts of the California coast. On Sunday, the Coast Guard announced that the 5-year-old girl earlier rescued by firefighters died after being taken to a hospital. The search for the 54-year-old man was called off after 22 hours.  

“The decision to suspend search efforts is one of the hardest decisions to make, but our crews searched for nearly 24 hours without any sightings of the missing person,” Capt. Jordan Baldueza, deputy commander of Coast Guard Sector San Francisco, said in the statement. “Our heartfelt condolences go out to the family and friends affected by this very tragic event.”

The pair were reported in danger early Saturday afternoon, and San Mateo County firefighters and the U.S. Coast Guard were called to Martin's Beach. Firefighters were able to locate the girl, but the Coast Guard took over the search for the missing man, deploying boats and a helicopter up and down the coast, even all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge, looking for him. KRON4 reports the pair were a grandfather and his granddaughter.

The California coast, from Point Reyes to Big Sur, has been under a beach hazards advisory all weekend. The National Weather Service warned beachgoers to "remain out of the water" as "large, unexpected waves can sweep across the beach without warning, sweeping people into the sea from rocks, jetties, and beaches." The weather service forecast the worst sneaker waves would be along west to northwest-facing beaches.