Girl, 12, Hit by Wave, Presumed Drowned
A 12-year-old Los Angeles girl who had taken a day trip to the beach with friends was presumed drowned Friday evening, after she was hit by a wave and caught in a rip current a short distance from shore.
For much of the day, county divers, lifeguards and the Coast Guard unsuccessfully searched for the girl in an area north of the Manhattan Beach Pier.
The girl and three friends, who had taken a bus to the beach, were playing in waste-deep water about 20 feet offshore. There were strong currents, authorities said, and about 11 a.m. the group was hit by a wave and pulled into a deep drop-off.
Three of the girls made it back to shore, but they lost sight of their friend, said Capt. Steve Moseley, of the county Fire Department’s lifeguard division.
“All three saw her being hit by the wave and struggling,” Moseley said. “It all happened very quickly.”
The girls ran to alert a lifeguard, but the missing girl was not seen again.
The child’s relatives were notified, but police were withholding her identity.
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