A scary Seaside, Oregon beach rescue occurred recently when a 12-year-old girl in the water with her friend was swept out to sea in a strong current. What could have been a tragic outcome for the girl and her family ended happily: The girl made it back to dry land and was rescued because she remembered what her grandmother told her to do if she ever found herself in such a precarious situation.
According to OregonLive, the incident happened around 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 29, this year, at Seaside Beach on the Oregon coast. The girl, who has not been identified in the press, was playing in the water with a friend when a strong wave struck her, pulling her out to sea. The other girl was not affected.
Rescue crews and bystanders searched for the girl for at least 20 minutes in about 50-degree water, but like a miracle, just when all involved were about to give up hope, the girl finally walked from the water and was spotted, with some water in her lungs, but otherwise unharmed.
Her grandmother taught her to “Float on your back” and she survived
Later, speaking with the press, the girl’s grandmother said she taught her granddaughter to float on her back if she ever gets swept out to sea to conserve energy and wait until she spotted dry land to try and swim. That’s what the girl did. She had floated about 10 blocks away from where she disappeared. Officials said the girl was transported to a nearby hospital, conscious and alert.
Seaside city officials called it a “really good outcome” because the water in that area can be “extremely powerful” and “unforgiving.” One witness and a member of the girl’s family called the girl’s rescue a “miracle.”
Speaking with Portland’s KPTV, City of Seaside Fire Marshal Jenesee Dennis said,
She actually reported to the crews that she started getting swept away, finding it a hard time to get back, and she actually decided to give up and she started then on focusing on floating, like survival floating. Then, eventually, tried to stand up again and found herself on a sandbar, luckily.”
Dennis went on to say his department performs as many as 60 similar rescues each year, and the girl did the right thing. “Know your limitations, how good of a swimmer you are, and know the conditions of the ocean because it’s dynamic and always changing,” he said.
