UPDATE: Search efforts continue heading into Thanksgiving for Amanpreet Thind, a man who went missing on Saturday, Nov. 22 when waves swept him from the rocks into the ocean at Soberanes Point in Big Sur. The Monterey County Sheriff's Office announced on Wednesday, Nov. 26 that the incident commander for search operations and Thind's family have been in contact with Juan Heredia, the diver from Stockton who recovered a 7-year-old girl from the ocean nearby on Nov. 16. Heredia confirmed he will be responding to Soberanes Point on Nov. 26 to work alongside the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office dive team in their efforts to locate Thind.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE:
Search efforts resumed on Monday, Nov. 24 for a man who was swept into the ocean at Soberanes Point over the weekend. The incident occurred less than a week after a 39-year-old father and his 7-year-old daughter were swept into the ocean by 15- to 20-foot waves nearby at Garrapata State Beach in Big Sur.
On Saturday, Nov. 22 around 3pm, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office and California State Parks received reports that three individuals—two women and one man—had been swept from the rocks into the ocean. A reporting party shared they could hear people in the water yelling for help, according to a Monterey County Sheriff’s press release.
The two women were able to self-rescue before being transported to a local hospital for evaluation. The man, who remained missing, has been identified as 35-year-old Amanpreet Thind, a U.S. Army Specialist from New Jersey and a student at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey. He was last seen wearing a white turban, black shirt, black shorts and a black vest-style jacket.
A multi-agency response was launched involving California State Parks, Cal Fire, California Highway Patrol, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team and the United States Coast Guard—which provided both helicopter and ocean vessel support.
Around 4:24pm on Saturday, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter located what appeared to be a body in the water but lost visual contact and was unable to relocate the individual due to dangerous surf conditions. Search operations were suspended at 7pm Saturday due to low visibility and hazardous conditions.
Operations resumed Sunday morning involving the Monterey County Sheriff’s Dive Team, Search and Rescue personnel, California State Parks Rescue Swimmers, and drone units from both the Sheriff’s Office and Cal Fire. High winds and unsafe water conditions have hindered both diver and drone search operations.
Search and recovery operations were suspended at sundown on Sunday. The public is urged to avoid the Soberanes Point area of Garrapata State Park at this time as conditions reportedly remain extremely dangerous, and a beach hazards statement remains in effect until 10pm tonight. Sneaker waves and strong rip currents with 13- to 18-foot waves are expected.