Father dead, kids lost in sneaker wave calamity

A 40-year-old man died after trying to rescue his two young children when they were swept out to sea.

JENNER » A 40- year- old man died after he tried to rescue his two young children who were swept away by a sneaker wave in Sonoma County and are presumed dead, authorities said.

The mother told officials that she and her family were either near the water's edge or partway in the water at Blind Beach in the city of Jenner when a wave knocked them over Sunday, Monte Rio Fire Chief Steve Baxman told the Press Democrat.

“The kids got swept in, so dad went in to get them and managed to grab his son but he, they were swept out and mom was knocked to her knees, but she was able to get out,” Baxman told KTVU-TV.

The father was recovered from the surf by his wife with the help of bystanders and someone performed CPR until rescue personnel arrived and took over, but he was pronounced dead at the scene Sunday.

Both of the children, a boy and a girl ages 4 and 7, were still missing Monday. The only sign of them was

a small jacket that washed ashore, Baxman said.

The family had just moved to Petaluma from outside the area, California State Parks officials told the Press Democrat. Authorities identified the man as Michael Wyman.

Supervising Sonoma Coast Ranger Damien Jones said the water “was so churned up and just a foamy white mess, basically, so once people went in the water, it was very

difficult to see where people were or what was happening.”

On Saturday, a 48-yearold Southern California man fell off the rocks into the crashing surf below the Mendocino Headlands and died.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was in an extended family group snapping photos when he slipped, or likely was swept off the rocks near the base of the headlands

as his horrified family watched, emergency personnel said.

More than 20 firefighters and state park personnel on the bluffs and others in jet skis aided the search and eventually spotted the man inside the bay, off Portuguese Beach, officials said.

One of the jet ski crews was able to bring the man ashore, but efforts to revive him were unsuccessful.

KENT PORTER — THE PRESS DEMOCRAT VIA AP A helicopter crew for the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office searches Monday for two children swept away in the surf at Blind Beach.