Marianne Black and her two daughters were just leaving the beach when they heard someone scream for help. They’d been coming to this beach for years, driving over from Ukiah to visit the tide pools near Laguna Point. It was a holiday tradition. They loved the ocean here, and they also knew when it couldn’t be trusted.
Natasha Black:
We noticed that the tide was in, but the riptide was really bad.
Elise Cox:
Natasha Black is 21. She says you can see the danger in the sand itself.
Natasha Black:
You could just tell the way the sand goes all the way down, so it’s like when the waves pull out, it almost looks like it’s going downhill. You would get sucked under, or it pulls out really quick. Also, when there’s waves crossing square ways almost, it ooked just very bad, riptide-wise. You didn’t see anybody surfing out there. Sometimes you’ll see people in wetsuits surfing out there. I saw no one out there
Elise Cox:
The three women had been walking the beach near the parking lot for about half an hour. They were headed toward the boardwalk, to the tide pools, when Gianna, Natasha’s younger sister, turned to say something. That’s when she saw the tragedy unfold.
Gianna Black:
So I saw the whole thing. We were walking towards our car. We had just come off of the dunes. We were walking up. We were going to, like, brush up our feet, change our shoes.
Elise Cox:
An older woman was standing on the beach near some rocks. A wave knocked her down. And before anyone could react, she was pulled into deeper water.
Gianna Black:
Before I could even blink, the out and she was screaming.
Elise Cox:
Gianna yelled to her mom and sister. Everyone moved at once.
Gianna Black:
My mom started yelling, “Call 911.” But there was another lady there who wasn’t reacting, so I told my mom to call 911 while I went down. But by the time I got down, she was already too far away for me to go swim out and grab her safely.
Elise Cox:
Between the women and the victim was a river channel, fast and deep. Gianna ran back toward parking lot, flagging people down, asking if anyone had something that floated. No one did. Natasha stayed closer to the water, shouting to the woman that help was coming.
Natasha Black:
I know how to swim, but not very well. And same with my sister.
Elise Cox:
That’s when they got the attention of a group of young men who, like Natasha and her sister, appeared to be in their early 20s.
Natasha Black:
The one guy that we met, I didn’t get his name, but he ran down there and jumped in.
Elise Cox:
The risk was enormous. Not just the riptide, but the cold, cold water.
Natasha Black:
You put foot in there and it goes numb right away. It was absolutely freezing cold water.
Elise Cox:
As the swimmer fought his way out, people on shore scrambled. Someone handed Natasha a blanket.
Natasha Black:
I put that on my shoulder and we crossed the river about, probably almost up to our stomach. It was pretty deep at that point. We were just trying to cross it and everyone ran after the guy that jumped in. That way we were just prepared by the time he got her out to have the blanket ready for her.
Elise Cox:
The swimmer swam quickly, efficiently, like a pro. He reached the woman and towed her back. On the beach, his friends helped him pull her from the water. Natasha and Gianna were right behind them.
Gianna Black:
It took three of them to pull her out of the water and then me and my sister made it there and we wrapped her and we tried to turn on her side to make sure all the water was leaving her body.
Elise Cox:
The woman drifted in and out of consciousness. She vomited seawater. She shivered violently.
Natasha Black:
We sat her up because like I said, she was nodding in and out. We thought maybe if we sat her up straight, she would kind of gain some consciousness back, but that wasn’t working. Yeah. So we just tried to warm her up, sit with her. You know, we kept checking her pulse. I was checking her pulse on her right arm and behind her everybody. You know, we took turns holding her up. It was like me and one of the guys that we kind of switched off. And like I said, we just started noticing her pulse became slower and slower. We were just trying to get her name, calm her down. But she was in shock and I believe she was, you know, got hypothermia because she was shivering. She was so cold.
Elise Cox
Natasha estimates the woman had been in the water for about 10 minutes. Another 10 minutes passed before firefighters and rescue crews arrived. The young swimmer and his friends never gave their names. The Mendocino voice has identified the woman as a 77 year old Fort Bragg resident. That information not yet been independently confirmed. What is certain is this: on a dangerous day, young strangers ran toward the water, knowing the risks and did everything they could to save a life.
