Two rescued after being swept into ocean by strong rip current on Monterey County beach

"At about 4:30 p.m. on Sunday during the Super Bowl game, the Marina Police Department was notified that California State Parks and the U.S. Coast Guard were responding to a water rescue involving an adult male and female. Marina police officers responded and located both individuals in visible distress in the water. Police said the two were being pulled farther out to sea by a strong rip current and were struggling to remain afloat in dangerous surf conditions."

"By 4:43 p.m., the male had reached the shoreline but was unable to stand. Marina officers assisted in retrieving him from the surf. (Photo courtesy of the Marina Police Department) At 4:50 p.m., a State Parks rescue officer reached the female in the water. As they approached the shoreline, wave action caused the officer to lose grip, and the woman was pulled back toward the ocean. Marina officers re-entered the surf zone and assisted in pulling her safely to shore."

"In late December, multiple people were reported swept into the ocean during separate incidents in Marina and along 17-Mile Drive near Point Joe. On Dec. 23, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office received a report of a man who was swept off rocks near Point Joe after being hit by a sneaker wave. About two hours earlier, Marina police received a report of another person swept out to sea by large waves. Neither individual was located."

At about 4:30 p.m., California State Parks and the U.S. Coast Guard responded to a water rescue near 8th Street and Beach Range Road in Marina involving an adult man and woman. Marina police officers found both visibly distressed and being pulled out to sea by a strong rip current. By 4:43 p.m. the man reached shore but could not stand and officers retrieved him. At 4:50 p.m. a State Parks rescue officer reached the woman but lost grip in wave action; Marina officers re-entered the surf and pulled her safely ashore. Both were no longer in immediate danger. The rescue follows multiple late-December ocean incidents along the Monterey County coastline.

Read at www.montereyherald.com