Rough surf off the coast of Big Sur swept three people into the ocean Saturday afternoon, and while two women survived, a male companion remains missing as of Tuesday afternoon. Search efforts to recover his body resumed Tuesday morning at sunrise, according to a press release from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office.
On Monday, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office released a follow-up press release, stating that the missing male has been identified as a 35-year-old U.S. army specialist from New Jersey.
“The missing person from Saturday’s incident at Garrapata State Park is Spc. Amanpreet Thind, a U.S. Army Soldier, and student at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center. As search and recovery operations continue, we hold out hope that Spc. Thind will be found,” said Colonel Christy L. Whitfield, Commandant at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, in Monday’s press release. “We offer our deepest condolences to the Thind family during this difficult time. We are providing those impacted with every resource and support service available and extend our heartfelt gratitude to local, state and national first responders working tirelessly to locate Spc. Thind.”
The incident off Soberanes Point comes a week after a father and his 7-year-old daughter were killed in rough waters 3 miles farther north off Big Sur’s Garrapata Beach.
A multi-agency response was initiated immediately to locate Thind and have continued daily, but have been suspended during darkness for safety reasons. The Monterey County Sheriff’s Dive Team has reported that water conditions have been unsafe for entry, but “water conditions appear(ed) favorable for Tuesday and a water search may begin depending on those conditions.”
On Saturday, “at around 4:24 p.m., a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter spotted what appeared to be a body in the ocean but due to the high surf, lost visual,” according to a press release. “They were unable to relocate the body.”
Thind was described as wearing a white turban, black shirt, black shorts and a black colored vest-style jacket.
Earlier Saturday, the National Weather Service had issued a “beach hazards” warning, with breaking waves expecting to reach 13 to 18 feet from Big Sur to Point Reyes north of San Francisco.
“Sneaker waves can unexpectedly run significantly farther up the beach than normal, including over rocks and jetties,” the weather service statement issued at noon said. The hazardous conditions are “long period northwesterly swell,” and the beach hazard warning was in effect until 10 p.m. Monday.
The two survivors, who were able to self-rescue, were taken to a local hospital and were treated and released for minor injuries.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office asks the public to stay away from the Soberanes Point area as search efforts continue.
On Nov. 14, 39-year-old Yuji Hu of Calgary, Alberta, died after trying to save his 7-year-old daughter who was swept into the ocean at Garrapata State Beach. The child’s mother, attempting to reach her husband and daughter, was also pulled into the surf, but managed to get back to the beach and return to her 2-year-old child. The body of the 7-year-old was recovered by a search diver two days later.
The Herald contributed to this report.
