The search for a missing teenage girl continues to expand in Southern California as high surf conditions persist. The incident occurred at Treasure Island Beach in Laguna Beach, where the girl, along with her mother and brother, was swept into the ocean by a large wave. The Laguna Beach Marine Safety Chief, Kai Bond, confirmed the events on Wednesday.
Witnesses to the event managed to rescue the mother and her son, who are now stable. In the rescue attempt, a man who helped the family had to be saved by a city lifeguard due to the high waves, some reaching approximately 10 feet high.
We’re expanding our search to include adjacent beaches, and we’re using divers, rescue vessels, and air resources to search the area. But at this point, we haven’t found her.
The Laguna Beach Marine Safety department is collaborating with the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard in the search efforts.
The National Weather Service reported that many Southern California beaches are experiencing waves of 5 to 8 feet high, with some swells even higher, particularly in Malibu, where waves could reach up to 10 feet. The surf along Orange County beaches, usually under 6 feet, had already peaked at 10 feet and was expected to decrease over the next 24 hours, according to meteorologist Philip Gonsalves. These conditions are primarily due to swells from the Southern Hemisphere’s winter storms hitting the coast.
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