A young girl, just 5 years old, tragically lost her life when a wave swept her off the Northern California beach and into the ocean. The U.S. Coast Guard officials confirmed the devastating news.
The girl’s grandfather, who was with her at the time of the incident, is currently missing. He too was reportedly taken by the same wave that claimed the life of his granddaughter.
5-year-old dies, grandfather missing after being swept out to sea in California https://t.co/PQ8wPtNOdP
— FOX 5 San Diego (@fox5sandiego) November 28, 2023
In a unfortunate incident on a Saturday afternoon at Martins Beach in Half Moon Bay, a young girl named Naretzi Navarrete from Merced was swept away by the sea.
San Mateo County Fire personnel were immediately dispatched to the scene. After a desperate search, they were able to locate Navarrete. She was quickly transported to a nearby hospital for immediate medical attention. Despite the best efforts of the medical team, Navarrete was pronounced dead at the hospital.
5-year-old dies, grandfather missing after being swept out to sea in Californiahttps://t.co/2ymOEmdd4V
— B.C. Begley (@BC_News1) November 28, 2023
Rescue teams embarked on a relentless search operation for Navarette’s 54-year-old grandfather that lasted for an exhausting 22 hours. The teams meticulously combed through a vast area spanning 100 square miles in their determined effort to locate him. The decision was made to suspend the search on Sunday afternoon.
“The decision to suspend search efforts is one of the hardest decisions to make, but our crews searched for nearly 24 hours without any sightings of the missing person,” said Capt. Jordan Baldueza, deputy commander, Coast Guard Sector San Francisco.
On Saturday afternoon, at around 1:20 p.m., the Coast Guard received a call reporting that two individuals had been swept out to sea. Responding swiftly to the emergency, the Coast Guard deployed a helicopter and a rescue boat to aid in the search operation.
Their efforts led to the recovery of Navarette, and was airlifted to Stanford Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The United States Coast Guard Cutter Hawksbill, embarked on a relentless search operation that extended throughout the night.
However, despite their tireless efforts and the utilization of all available resources, the search had to be eventually called off. The decision to terminate the search was made around 12:38 p.m. on Sunday.
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