A fisherman has tragically lost his life after being swept into the ocean at Rodeo Beach in Marin County, California. Around 3:30 p.m. on March 25, emergency calls came in about a man in distress in the water. News reports said that a surfer was the first to reach the man, and was able to bring him to shore and conduct first-aid measures. Unfortunately, the man was pronounced deceased on the scene.
Authorities have not yet released the man’s identity. All that’s known is he was fishing alone and in his seventies.
Rescue crews continued their search amid conflicting reports that perhaps a second victim had also fallen into the ocean. However, bystanders who had recorded the fisherman were able to clear up the confusion.
“We started a water search that lasted approximately 45, 50 minutes,” said Jason Golden, Battalion Chief of Southern Marin Fire District. “During that time we got a third person who came up with a credible video of the person who was fishing, where we determined that there actually wasn’t a second person who went into the water and we called off the search.”
The tragedy comes several weeks after a similar incident in Sonoma County. On March 2, a fisherman identified as 43-year-old Shanglong Tang was also swept off rocks during a big swell event and drowned. The difference was that Tang’s drowning came during a hazardous surf warning.
Yesterday at Rodeo Beach, located just north of the Golden Gate Bridge, Surfline reported the waves were five to seven feet – head high to two feet overhead – with a primary swell of 4 feet at 17 seconds from the west. The incident took place around the peak low tide of -0.2 feet.
Bay Area weather reached record highs on Tuesday as temperatures rose into the 80s (Fahrenheit). The unseasonably warm weather led the National Weather Service to issue reminders to beachgoers about the chilly ocean temperatures, rip currents, and sneaker waves.
