Search for Teen Girl Swept Away by Big Wave Expands in Laguna Beach

LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. -- The search for a teenage girl swept away by a big wave while walking on a Southern California beach expanded Wednesday as high surf kept battering the coast.

The girl, her mom and brother were walking along the sand at Treasure Island Beach in the city of Laguna Beach Tuesday evening when they were swept into the ocean, Laguna Beach Marine Safety Chief Kai Bonds said Wednesday.

Two people who saw the family being swept away were able to rescue the mother and son, who are in stable condition. One man who helped the family then had to be rescued by a city lifeguard from waves that were reaching about 10 feet (3 meters) high, he said.

“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,” Bonds said.

Laguna Beach Marine Safety is getting help from the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard, Bonds said.

Many of Southern California’s beaches are expected to see 5-to 8-foot (1.5-2.5 meter) waves through at least Thursday night, the National Weather Service said in Wednesday surf reports, and still higher in some places. The beach city of Malibu could see waves of up to 10 feet (3 meters), the service said.

In Orange County, where the city of Laguna Beach is located, the surf height is normally below 6 feet (about 2 meters), said Philip Gonsalves, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He said the surf in Orange County had already peaked at 10 feet and was expected to start trending lower within the next 24 hours.

The surf has been particularly high along beaches facing south or southwest as large swells from the Southern Hemisphere's winter storms reach the area, he said.