DATE: March 9, 2009 2:58:50 PM PDT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Search for missing teen off Davenport suspended
United States Coast Guard Eleventh Coast Guard DistrictEleventh Coast Guard District logo
NEWS RELEASE

DATE:

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March 9, 2009

Public Affairs (415)740-4364 / Charity Hoffman

Search suspended for missing teen off Davenport

 

SAN FRANCISCO - The U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search for a teen swept off a beach near Davenport, Calif., after he was reported missing early this morning.

At 4:00 a.m., the Coast Guard received a report from the Santa Cruz Sheriff's Department that a 17 year-old male was swept from the beach. A 47- foot motor lifeboat from Station Monterey and a HH-65 helicopter from Air Station San Francisco were launched and searched a six mile stretch of coastline from Davenport south to Santa Cruz, and offshore to a distance of eight miles. The California State Park Service and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection conducted searches shore-side simultaneously.

At approximately 12:30 p.m. today, the search was suspended. The teen was reported to be wearing only board shorts. The weather conditions reported on scene were winds up to 20 miles per hour, 12-foot ocean swells, and a water temperature of 55 degrees.

The Coast Guard reminds beach-goers to always use extreme caution and vigilance when near the water.  Sneaker-waves, rip-currents, and rocky shorelines can combine to create life-threatening situations.  Individual waves can be significantly larger than the standard set, and can quickly sweep a person into the sea.

For more information on beach safety, please visit the California State Park Service's web site, or download a Coast Guard flyer on safety (this is an Adobe Acrobat PDF file).

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