Search canceled for father, son swept into ocean by wave
NORTH BEND, Ore. -- The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a father and his young son who were swept into the sea by a wave along an Oregon beach.
The agency, along with Oregon State Police and other responders, searched unsuccessfully Sunday and Monday for 31-year-old Jayson Dean Thomas, of Elmira, Oregon, and his 3-year-old son.
Thomas and the boy had been walking Sunday on a beach about 2 miles north of Cape Blanco when the wave struck. State Police spokesman Capt. Bill Fugate said the area where they were swept away is steep and that the ocean was rough due to an approaching storm.
The mother was at the beach when the two went into the water on Sunday afternoon around 1 p.m., the Coast Guard said, CBS affiliate KBNZ reported.
The boy’s mother saw it happen and called authorities.
Crews in helicopters and search boats and state troopers in all-terrain vehicles found only the man’s jacket and a child carrier he had been wearing in the surf.
Rescuers searched for over 22 hours, the U.S. Coast Guard, KBNZ reported.