Young Brother and Sister Rescued in Fog by Lifeguard

Lifeguard Mitch White was about to lock up after a busy day when he heard the emergency police call.

A young brother and sister had disappeared in the water.

“I had just made a public advisement . . . warning swimmers that it was no longer safe to swim when the 911 call came in” at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday, White said.

White drove to 24th Street, where he met police and distraught relatives who said Alex Anaya, 13, and his sister, Vicky Anaya, 10, had been missing for half an hour. They had been on the beach outing with relatives from Fontana.

White, 42, said he immediately paddled out about 100 yards on his paddleboard.

“I yelled out and I heard a faint voice. I yelled a second time, and I heard a boy’s voice say, ‘Over here.’ ” White said. “I said, ‘Hang in there.’ They were about 50 yards north of me and I kept yelling for them to hang in there. When I found them, the youngster had his face above water and he was holding onto her beneath her arm pits. Her head was beneath the waves and all I could see was her hair floating on the surface.”

White lifted the girl onto the board. She was conscious but vomiting from ingested salt water, he said. The boy, who by then was grabbing onto the paddle board, complained of severe cramps after treading water for so long.

The boy and girl were recovering at Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian.

White, a 25-year lifeguard, said the rescue was his first in fog and one of the most exciting.

“When I got to shore, their relatives were really glad to see me. I was blessed three times by their mother,” White said.