SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard suspended searching for an individual last seen in the water near Rockaway Beach in Pacifica, Sunday evening.
Coast Guard Sector San Francisco personnel were notified at 4:56 p.m., Sunday, of a surfer reported to be face down in the water 100 yards off of Rockaway Beach. A helicopter rescue crew from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco and a 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Golden Gate were immediately dispatched to assist the Pacifica Fire Department, South San Francisco Fire Department and Daly City Police who established an incident command post and attempted to recover the person from shore.
Upon arriving Rockaway Beach, Pacifica firefighters witnessed an individual in a black wet suit, face down in the surf approximately 100 yards from shore. Approximately 9 minutes later, rescue personnel lost sight of the individual in the surf line. A surfboard was later recovered from the area, but there was no information on the board that could assist in identifying the missing surfer. Pacifica Fire personnel queried individuals regarding the missing surfer, but were unable to determine who the individual was at the time.
The Coast Guard concentrated their search off of Rockaway Beach, deploying a self-locating data marker buoy designed to track set and drift. The buoy provided responders better fidelity on local ocean currents and where the individual may have drifted. After saturating an 18 square mile area with both air and surface assets, the active search was suspended at 9:48 p.m., Sunday, pending further developments.
The Coast Guard recommends marking recreational property with personal contact information to assist responders in identifying whom the item belongs to, and how to contact its proper owner.