Search crews widened their effort on Wednesday for a girl who remained missing after a wave pulled her family into the ocean off Laguna Beach on Tuesday evening. The Laguna Beach Marine Safety Department responded about 7:30 p.m. to a call about swimmers in distress, and people nearby pulled the mother and her son to safety while the girl was still unaccounted for.
That immediate rescue was only the first break in a search that stretched through the night and into Wednesday morning without finding the child. More than 30 people were involved by Wednesday, with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Coast Guard joining the effort as teams worked on the water, underwater and from the air. Kai Bond said crews were walking down every avenue possible to locate her.
The scale of the response reflects how quickly Southern California’s surf has turned dangerous this week. A high surf advisory is in effect for Catalina, the Santa Barbara islands, the Malibu Coast and all Los Angeles County beaches, while hazardous beach conditions continue along the San Diego and Orange County coastlines through Thursday afternoon. Newport Beach’s chief lifeguard said his department made 105 rescues on Tuesday alone, and waves at the Wedge there reportedly reached as high as 20 feet this week.
Weather officials say winter storms in the South Pacific are generating elevated swells and long-period elevated swells that are reaching coastal Southern California. Philip Gonsalves said those swells can break over rocks, drag swimmers into the water and pull them beyond the surf zone, which is why the danger can look calm from shore and still become deadly in seconds. Brian O’Rourke said lifeguards are fully staffed, educating the public and responding as needed, and he urged beachgoers to speak with a lifeguard before going into the water.
The search for the missing girl now depends on whether crews can find a break in conditions that have already kept them busy across the coast. For now, the unanswered question is simple: where the search will focus next before the surf settles enough to give rescuers another clear chance.
