In Search of the Young Rescuers at MacKerricher State Park on Monday
They did what they could. No one took their names. And then they were gone.
Monday was a beautiful day.
A pause between storms.
The kind of day that pulls people out of their houses and down to the water’s edge.
A group of friends went to MacKerricher State Park up the coast from Fort Bragg.
The air was clear. The ocean restless but dazzling.
There was a feeling of relief that follows pounding rain and wind — a sense that the worst had passed.
Then they saw the wave.
And the woman on the rock.
She was swept into the sea.
They did not stop to think.
They did not wait for instructions.
They ran into the water.
Others on the beach were calling for help.
The friends swam out through the cold, into the surge, against a strong undertow.
About 50 yards.
They pulled the woman back to shore.
Later, Steve Orsi, chief of the Fort Bragg Fire Department, said no one took their names.
In the chaos, there was no clipboard. No introductions.
No one was looking for credit.
The young rescuers did everything they could.
So did the fire and medical personnel who arrived soon after.
The woman — a white woman in her 70s — could not be revived.
Chief Orsi said the rescuers appeared focused on only one thing: helping a stranger.
They asked for nothing in return.
And then they were gone.
We do not know if they were locals, or visitors in Fort Bragg for the holiday.
We do know this: when the ocean took someone, they answered without hesitation.
If you were among those who ran into the water Monday — or if you know who they were — we hope you will come forward.
So the community can say thank you.