Quick Take
The father of a 24-year-old woman swept out to sea at Panther State Beach on Santa Cruz County's North Coast is asking the public to help find her after the Coast Guard suspended its search Tuesday. Family members and friends are combing more than 10 miles of coastline, hoping to find Senah Park.
On a warm Tuesday afternoon, Kwanghyon Park, whose 24-year-old daughter, Senah Park, was swept out to sea at Panther State Beach on Sunday evening, stood with family members atop the cliff overlooking the ocean. Cries and sobs rose above the sound of waves crashing against the shore.
Shortly after Kwanghyon Park spoke with Lookout, around 30 family members and friends walked to the cliff overlooking Panther Beach to gather around Park, bowing their heads in prayer and embracing one another.
“Anyone who’s hiking or in the area, please keep your eyes open for our beloved Senah,” Park pleaded. “Just pray for us.”
Senah had come to Santa Cruz County with five friends to celebrate a birthday. After lunch at a Korean barbecue restaurant in San Jose, the group arrived at Panther Beach – about 15 minutes north of the Santa Cruz city limits – with firewood, drinks and a guitar. They walked down to a secluded cove and built a small bonfire.
As darkness fell, four of the six friends decided to leave early. While making their way toward the beach’s Keyhole area, they were struck by waves that knocked them off their feet. Three made it back to shore, one with a dislocated shoulder. The last trace of Senah they saw was the light from her cellphone in the darkness, her father said.
A 911 call was made around 8:40 p.m., Park said. Sheriff’s deputies arrived within minutes, and the Coast Guard joined the search closer to 10 p.m. Crews searched through the night and resumed Monday morning.
On Tuesday, the Coast Guard announced it had suspended active search operations after an extensive effort. Crews searched approximately 95 square miles over about eight hours using a helicopter, boats and a drone pilot. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Cruz Fire Department and California State Parks also assisted. Officials cited the scope of the search and ocean conditions in their decision, saying the search could resume if new information emerges.
With the official search suspended, Park and his family turned to the public for help. Between 35 and 40 family members and friends had divided into four groups to walk more than 10 miles of coastline, searching for any sign of Senah.
Park said he planned to drive along the coast, distributing missing-persons flyers and speaking with surfers, whom he hoped might spot something from the water or shore.
“She could be anywhere from Monterey to San Mateo,” he said.
Park said he did not know whether it would take a day, a week or longer to find his daughter. Standing above the ocean with loved ones, he asked the community to keep looking.
“Pray that her spirit is with God,” he said, “and pray that they bring her body back to us so she can have a proper burial.”
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