Updated
Updated · NBC News · Jun 11
US Coast Guard Suspends 30-Hour Search for 5-Year-Old in Laguna Beach After 90-Square-Mile Sweep
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Jun 11

US Coast Guard Suspends 30-Hour Search for 5-Year-Old in Laguna Beach After 90-Square-Mile Sweep

3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Jun 11

Summary

  • More than 30 hours of searching ended Wednesday night when the U.S. Coast Guard suspended efforts to find a 5-year-old girl swept into the ocean at Laguna Beach.
  • The search covered more than 90 square miles after the Coast Guard was alerted at 8 p.m. Tuesday that the child had been struck by a wave and carried into rough surf.
  • Treasure Island Beach was the initial search area after powerful water conditions swept a mother and her two children into the sea; bystanders rescued the mother and one child.
  • Laguna Beach Marine Safety, the Orange County Sheriff's Harbor Patrol and the Coast Guard joined the operation as hazardous surf persisted, with Laguna Beach swells reaching up to 9 feet and the National Weather Service warning of peak surf at south-facing beaches.

Insights

A record swell swept a family away. Should high-risk beaches be closed during extreme weather alerts to prevent such tragedies?
Is this tragic death a warning of California's perilous new normal as ocean temperatures continue to rise?