Woman swept away by 'sneaker' wave in N. Calif.

January 28, 2013 @ 6:05 pm

EUREKA, Calif. (AP) - A Northern California woman drowned after she was swept out to sea by a large wave in the third such tragedy in the region this season, authorities said.

Humboldt County Coroner David Parris on Monday identified the victim as Susan Archer, 32, of Shelter Cove, about 90 miles south of Eureka.

Archer was walking on a rocky beach near her home with her boyfriend and dog Sunday when the wave pulled her into the ocean, Parris said. Her body was brought to shore after a roughly 45-minute search by boat and helicopter. Attempts to revive her with CPR didn't work, he said.

Archer's boyfriend was hurt when he was thrown against the shoreline rocks, but he was not swept up by the wave, officials said. Her dog was pulled into the water but was able to swim back to shore.

Authorities are warning beach-goers to stay away from the water's edge and watch out for "sneaker waves" that can suddenly roar ashore.

"The entire shoreline of Northern California is very dangerous at this time of year," Parris said. "These waves can sneak up on you so quickly that you don't have the ability to swim or recover."

The tragedy is the region's third such mishap in the past few months.

On New Year's Day, a man and his wife were walking on the beach near Point Reyes when a wave overtook their dog. The couple went into the water to rescue the dog and the man was swept away. His wife and dog made it safely to shore.

In November, a couple drowned and their 16-year-old son disappeared while trying to save their dog at a beach near Arcata. The dog was chasing a thrown stick when it got pulled into the ocean by 8- to 10-foot waves.


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (4)


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  • hpygolkyone wrote...
    Unbelievable..............
    November 26, 2012 4:51 pm
    This event over a dammed dog has left an 18 year old girl an orphan.

    ......and the dammed dog survived!

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  • ssbn629g wrote...
    hpygolkyone...
    January 2, 2013 8:43 am
    "damned dog" Harsh reference. When faced with this same situation, what did you do? Oh wait.. I bet you haven't been in this situation. Neither have I. All we can offer is an opinion...we have no standing to judge behavior without having faced the same thing and split second response.
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  • hpygolkyone wrote...
    A Couple Of Observations...............
    January 28, 2013 9:05 pm
    1. You misquoted me. I said dammed, not damned.

    2. I take it this is your first time reading about this story? (the one I'm referring to happened 2 months ago). For years I have read in the papers about people jumping in to save their pets and they die and the pet swims to shore....apparently they don't have newspapers on your planet?

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  • Citizen of Krazy Town wrote...
    According to the extreme pet lovers set, this is the appropriate result
    November 27, 2012 9:46 am
    Dori's "jury" has already weighed in on this when the sheppard/rottie got stuck on the Colorado mountain top. Owners should ALWAYS risk their lives to save their pets, lest they be stripped of ownership and vilified in the global media.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }