‘Waves just grabbed him.’ California fisherman swept to sea as cousins try saving him

Steep, rocky cliffs surround the water at a California beach — but three fishermen wanted to reach the water.

So the trio hiked to the water Monday, Feb. 7, at Muir Beach, a cove about 17 miles northwest of San Francisco, National Park Service rangers at the Golden Gate National Recreation Area said.

“For those unfamiliar, Muir Beach and Muir Beach Overlook are areas of Golden Gate National Recreation Area (managed by NPS),” park rangers said on Twitter. “The overlook sits above the beach and is bordered by steep rocky cliffs. There is no trail that goes to the water.”

The three men became stranded in the water and needed help, Golden Gate officials said. Rangers did not say how they got in the water.

Two of the fishermen were rescued. Officials, however, are still searching for the third man.

The three men are cousins, KTVU reported. One of the men tried to save his cousin as the waves washed him away, according to the news outlet.

“The waves just grabbed him and just swallowed him down,” Marlin Padilla, one of the men rescued, told ABC7.

Padilla told KTVU he jumped into the water to grab his cousin, but the waves were too strong.

“The waves were insanely big and were pulling me down as well,” Padilla told KTVU. “I was just swallowing a lot of water.”

Muir Beach Fire Chief Chris Gove told ABC7 he isn’t optimistic about the rescue because the water is so cold.

“If you don’t have a rescue in the first half hour, you’re not going to have one, water is cold,” Gove told ABC7.

The search for the missing fisherman will “continue until it is unsafe for personnel to do so,” Golden Gate park rangers said. The other two cousins were uninjured.

This story was originally published February 8, 2022 at 6:50 AM with the headline "‘Waves just grabbed him.’ California fisherman swept to sea as cousins try saving him."