Search for Huntington Beach Surfer Ends Happily
A 1 1/2-hour search for a missing surfer by Huntington Beach police and lifeguards Friday ended when the surfer found his erstwhile rescuers instead.
About 7:15 p.m., the manager of the Ruby’s restaurant at the municipal pier reported seeing a surfer swamped by a large wave but didn’t see him reappear, Police Lt. Gary Brooks said. The man reported the incident about 8 p.m., and police and city and state lifeguards searched the water around the pier.
But Brooks said the water had carried the surfer down to a dark area of the beach, near a lifeguard tower.
“It was dark and nobody saw him, and he crawled out of the water and came up to us and said, ‘What’s going on?’ ” Brooks said. It was about 9:45 p.m. Based on the manager’s description, rescuers knew it was the surfer they were looking for, Brooks said.
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