Father, daughter killed after being swept into ocean in California
Powerful waves swept a family out to sea near Monterey, California, on Friday as a strong storm barreled into the West Coast.
California State Park lifeguards search for a missing girl swept into the ocean on Friday, Nov. 14, at Garrapata State Park. (California State Parks)
A family was swept into the ocean Friday around noon near Garrapata State Park, about 8 miles south of Monterey, California, as one of the most powerful storms in months hit California. According to the local sheriff's office, the father jumped into the powerful waves to save his 7-year-old daughter, but both were swept out to sea.
The mother jumped into the surf but was also swept away by the strong current. She was rescued by lifeguards and was taken to the hospital for hypothermia, NBC News said. The father was swept back onto shore and pronounced dead. On Sunday, a diver found the body of the 7-year-old girl 100 yards offshore, a half-mile north of the beach where she disappeared.
AccuWeather meteorologists say that water temperatures near Monterey were around 59 degrees on Friday around the time when the pair went missing. Wave heights also rapidly increased from 2 feet to 8.5 feet Thursday night into Friday morning, according to a NOAA coastal station.
The high waves were associated with a storm system that brought a wide range of weather to the state.
A plot of wave heights at Monterey, California show a rapid increase in wave height on Friday morning. (NOAA)
