Tragedy and close calls on the Oregon Coast amidst high surf and king tides
BANDON, Ore. - King tides and high surf combined for some close calls - and tragedy - on the Oregon Coast this weekend.
A 47-year-old Portland man and his two children were swept into the ocean by a large wave near Cape Falcon. The 7-year-old girl later died at the hospital; the 4-year-old boy remains lost at sea. Their father is expected to survive.
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"First responders have reported that they were on an off beach trail and when the waves came up and pulled them in," the family said in a statement Monday. "Our hearts as you can imagine could not be more broken as both children were loved beyond measure by our entire family and so many others."
The National Weather Service and U.S. Coast Guard repeatedly warned the public to use extreme caution near the ocean.
But the lure of storm watching during some of the highest tides of the winter - known as "king tides" - brought people out to the Oregon Coast.
Jill Stockford shared video from the south jetty in Bandon, Oregon, on Saturday that showed one close call.
"A large crowd gathered at the south jetty in Bandon to watch the big waves at high tide during the high surf warning, Saturday January 11, 2020," Stockford wrote via Chime In. "A young boy decided to jump down onto the beach, ignoring his mother's yells for him to get off the beach immediately. When her tone changed, the boy finally got off the beach, literally within seconds of a fast moving sneaker wave narrowly missing him and dragging him out to sea. You can hear him laughing in the background unaware of how serious that sneaker wave was."
