Man Drowns in Bid to Save Child

A man who plunged into the ocean at Point Mugu to save a child drowned Wednesday after being swept out to sea by strong currents, Ventura County sheriff’s deputies and hospital officials said.

Theodore Hansen, 38, of Thousand Oaks was on the beach near Mugu Rock with his wife, Barbara, and six small children, including some of their own, when one of the children, Justin Allen, 4, ran into the water and was washed away.

Hansen’s rescue attempt was thwarted by the strong current and he and the child were pulled out of the water by other swimmers. They were airlifted to St. John’s Hospital, Oxnard, where Hansen was pronounced dead.