VENTURA HARBOR : Rescue of 3 Nearly Turns Into Disaster

An attempt to rescue a teen-ager caught in a rip current Saturday at Surfer’s Knoll beach just south of the Ventura Harbor almost resulted in disaster, a Ventura Harbor spokesman said.

Three people, including the girl’s boyfriend, were rescued by lifeguards or pulled onto a Ventura Harbormaster boat, said Senior Deputy Harbormaster David Glaser.

“This is very common when non-swimmers get into trouble and other non-swimmers try to come to their rescue,” Glaser said.

The girl, 14-year-old Sara Norton of Acton, was swimming just south of the new jetty when she got caught in a rip current. When her boyfriend attempted to help her, he also was caught in the current and then one of their friends went in after them, Glaser said.

The group tried to signal for help, he said, but for close to half an hour, no one realized they were in distress.

Bob Carpenter, 37, of Virginia, saw the three waving for help and swam out with a body board, using it to keep the girl afloat until rescuers could pick them up.

“It was a very close call if he had not gone out there,” Glaser said. “She’d be dead right now.”

The Ventura Harbor Patrol pulled Sara, her boyfriend and Carpenter into their boat about 300 yards offshore, Glaser said. The couple’s friend was pulled to shore by a lifeguard.

Sara was listed in good condition at Ventura County Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said.