Searchers find body believed to be that of a woman swept into ocean from popular Washington beach
Sunset on Rialto Beach
CLALLAM COUNTY, Wash. - The Coast Guard announced on Tuesday that it has ended the search for a missing 26-year-old woman, who they say was reportedly swept by currents off Rialto Beach on Monday morning.
At about 10:50 a.m. Monday, the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received a report of a woman, described to be wearing a pink sweater and black pants, swept from the Clallam County beach.
On Tuesday night, officials said Olympic National Park Rangers reported that they found a body matching the description of the woman.
Air and land crews, which also included the Clallam County Sheriff's Office and La Push Tribal police, searched more than 50 square miles for over 5 hours.
Coast Guard helicopter crews searched about 51 square miles (132 square kilometers) for more than five hours, and had a team searching on land. Officers from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office and the La Push Tribal Police Department, in addition to park rangers, helped in the search.
The National Weather Service in Seattle had issued a small craft advisory and a gale warning Monday along the coast for strong winds causing hazardous seas. A powerful system has been bringing heavy rain, gusty winds, below-average temperatures and a wintry mix at higher elevations to parts of the Northwest, including western Washington and western Oregon, the weather service said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.