Full Notification

On February 26, 2016, at 3:04 pm, Sheriff’s Helicopter Henry 1 was dispatched to Goat Rock Beach along with deputies from the Guerneville Substation and Fire personnel from Bodega Bay Fire, CALFIRE and Monte Rio Fire, to assist a State Parks lifeguards with a rescue of several persons who had been swept out into the rough surf and now were in distress.

It was later determined that several family members visiting Goat Rock Beach were walking along the beach’s edge when a large wave struck the family members causing them to be swept out into the rough surf. Another family member entered the water to render aid and all parties became distressed in the rough condition of the surf.

The State Parks lifeguard entered the surf, swam and contacted the distressed family members and stabilized the situation until Henry 1 arrived on scene. One of the family members was able to swim out of the rough surf and return back shore without assistance.

The Henry 1 crew landed on shore and reconfigured the helicopter for a 100’ long-line rescue. They attached a 100’ rescue rope to the bottom of the helicopter. The pilot flew the crew member on the end of the rope, out to lifeguard and the distress family members in the surf. The family members and the lifeguard were secured in the “horse-collar” rescue device and the pilot flew the rescuer and the family members back to shore.

The family members were turned over, exhausted, to State Parks and Fire Department personnel for medical transport to local hospitals. The State Parks lifeguard was flown by Henry 1 to a Santa Rosa hospital for follow-up medical treatment as a precaution.

The Henry 1 crew consists of a pilot, deputy sheriff/EMT and a paramedic, all trained to perform long line rescues in the ocean, on cliffs and other remote areas located along the North Coast.

Prepared by Lieutenant Al Vernon, Watch Commander