Girl, 5, dies and man, 54, is still missing after waves swept them both out to sea at California’s Half Moon Bay as coast guard makes tough choice to call off search after 22 hours

A five-year-old girl has died and the search for her 54-year-old grandfather, who was swept into the sea next to her, has been called off after 10 hours.

San Mateo County firefighters and the U.S. Coast Guard responded to reports that the pair was struck by a sneaker wave at Martin’s Beach in California’s Half Moon Bay around 2 p.m. Saturday.

Jordan Baldueza, deputy commander of the San Francisco Coast Guard Sector said, “The decision to suspend search efforts is one of the most difficult decisions to make, but our crews searched for nearly 24 hours without any sightings of the missing person.

“Our sincere condolences go out to the family and friends affected by this very tragic event.”

The couple was reported in danger Saturday around 2 p.m. when the San Mateo County Fire Department and the U.S. Coast Guard were called to Martin’s Beach.

Although the girl was rescued and taken to a local hospital for treatment, she was pronounced dead on Sunday.

Coast Guard crews scoured more than 100 square miles with helicopters and boats for about 22 hours looking for her grandfather before finally calling it off.

The California coast, from Point Reyes to Big Sur, is under a beach hazard warning all weekend.

US Coast Guard helicopter. Helicopters and search boats were called in to assist in the search, but were called off after 10 hours with no sightings

The National Weather Service warned beachgoers to “stay out of the water” because “large, unexpected waves can crash over the beach without warning and push people into the sea from rocks, jetties and beaches.”

The weather service predicted the worst sneaker waves would occur along west- to northwest-facing beaches.