Search expands for a teenage girl swept into the ocean in Southern California

Two people who saw the family being swept away were able to rescue the mother and son, who are in stable condition. One man who helped the family then had to be rescued by a city lifeguard from waves that were reaching about 10 feet (3 meters) high, he said.

“We’re expanding our search to include adjacent beaches, and we’re using divers, rescue vessels and air resources to search the area. But at this point we haven’t found her,” Bond said.

Laguna Beach Marine Safety is getting help from the Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol and the U.S. Coast Guard, Bond said.

Many of Southern California’s beaches are expected to see 5-to 8-foot (1.5-2.5 meter) waves through at least Thursday night, the National Weather Service said in Wednesday surf reports, and still higher in some places. The beach city of Malibu could see waves of up to 10 feet (3 meters), the service said.

In Orange County, where the city of Laguna Beach is located, the surf height is normally below 6 feet (about 2 meters), said Philip Gonsalves, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. He said the surf in Orange County had already peaked at 10 feet and was expected to start trending lower within the next 24 hours.

The surf has been particularly high along beaches facing south or southwest as large swells from the Southern Hemisphere's winter storms reach the area, he said.