A California mother who was nearly swept away by a huge wave outside her home returned in the dark just hours after her brush with death to find her lost iPhone because she feared her boss would be angry.
Biotech executive Celeste Glazer evacuated the oceanfront condo in Capitola she rented with her family Thursday morning as dangerous surf began rushing over the coastal wall below.
A few hours later, Glazer, 51, returned with her 15-year-old daughter Bridget to pick up a suitcase and return a parking permit.
However, an abnormally high tide pushed a 20-foot swell over the wall, causing Glazer to fall and nearly be swept away.
Just as she was about to be carried over the wall, Bridget, a high school gymnast, managed to grab her mother and drag her to safety, but the mother lost her new iPhone 14 in the process.
Biotech executive Celeste Glazer was nearly swept away by a 20-foot wave outside her rented apartment in Capitola
Glazer had evacuated the apartment with her family, but returned to pick up a suitcase (Photo: 2020)
Glazer (right) was rescued from the waves by her fifteen-year-old daughter Bridget (photo: 2022)
Fearing the wrath of her boss at San Jose-based Molecular Devices, who had given her the phone, Glazer convinced her family to look for the device that evening.
Her iPad had informed her that the cell phone was nearby and still on.
“I talked to my family and said, 'I really want to go find it.' They said, “No. It's dark.”
“Everyone told me to just forget about the phone,” Glazer told The Mercury News.
“My mom said, 'You're crazy,'” she said.
“Bridget said she would come with me, and my husband said, 'I'm not letting you go alone or you might fall in.'”
Glazer used the 'find' feature on her Apple Watch to locate the phone.
Using their mobile phone as a flashlight, the family searched in the dark and sent 'pings' to the missing device.
Finally, they decided to dig into the sand where the strongest 'ping' from the missing phone was coming from.
About ten feet away from where Glazer remembered letting go of her phone, and a hundred feet deep in the sand, a piece of purple plastic came into view.
It was the case that included Glazer's iPhone, and the device still worked.
“I just started screaming,” Glazer said. 'I thought, “Yes!”'
“We felt like treasure hunters,” Bridget added.
Despite facing death, the 51-year-old insisted on returning to the beach in the dark to find her lost iPhone 14 that night
High tides and rain caused large waves to crash onto the shoreline, causing flooding in Capitola Village Thursday morning
Waves crash into a home along the California coast in Malibu Beach, California, on Friday
Strong surf was seen hitting beachfront homes in Malibu on Friday
California has been battered by a brutal coastal storm all week.
Extraordinarily large waves, generated by powerful swells from Pacific storms, prompted closure of the pier and warnings from first responders early Friday morning.
Strong surf was also seen hitting beachfront homes in Malibu, where emergency sand barriers have been built in an effort to limit damage to the expensive properties.
On Thursday, nearly two dozen people were swept away by a wave that crashed into a beach barrier in Ventura County.
At some points in California, breaking waves were forecast to reach heights of 40 feet.
Astronomical high tides increase the risk of more coastal flooding, forecasters say.
“Overall, this is expected to be an exceptional high surf and coastal flooding event not seen in many years,” the weather service wrote.
'Be careful and follow the instructions of local authorities and lifeguards. Never turn your back to the water as harmful and life-threatening sneaker waves can occur.”