Updated as of October 26, 5:08 P.M.
Early Sunday afternoon, emergency workers got a call about a person in the water who was in distress. They were near the rocky cliffside next to Price Street in Pismo Beach.
Witness Katie Hetrick was playing tennis nearby when she first heard the sirens.
“We saw a lot of emergency vehicles going down this road and noticed a lot of people looking over the edge, looking for someone that looked really scary," Hetrick said. "The waves were incredibly dangerous looking.”
After a search of the area, rescue swimmers were able to recover a body from the ocean. Captain Eva Grady from CALFIRE said the person was then transported to Port San Luis, where an ambulance was waiting.
The recovery marked the end of a search shaped by natural obstacles.
Rough terrain on the ground made it difficult to move around on the ground so rescue workers called in a helicopter and boats to search for the person in need of help.
“There are a lot of factors that influence somebody when they get swept into the water," Grady said. "There is a current that's taking them. We have big swell today. We have lots of rocks to work around.”
Hetrick said there was a sense of helplessness watching the recovery.
“It's nerve wracking because it's like, you feel like you want to be helping," Hetrick said. "You want to, like, find something. You want to point something out, but you realize there's nothing you can do.”
Grady said they got the call around 12:30, and they were at the scene in under ten minutes. Response time is crucial when it comes to rescues — especially during this time of year with swells that reach around ten feet in height.
“In the fall, we get these northwest ground swells and they are much more powerful," Grady said. "They come from far away. You can see it's been consistently breaking out here, and if you don't know what you're looking at, it can be deceptively inviting.”
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At around 12:30 p.m., multiple agencies responded to a water rescue near Price Street in Pismo Beach. CAL FIRE San Luis Obispo County Fire Department, Pismo Beach Fire Department, the San Luis Obispo County USAR Team, Port San Luis Harbor Patrol, and CHP Helicopter H-70 were all on scene assisting with the incident.
Officials confirmed the person died during the incident.
