A boy was swept into the ocean. His story reveals the hidden danger of California’s sneaker waves
Upon reaching the bottom of the steps leading to Cowell Ranch State Beach, 8-year-old Siddhant Pruthi grabbed a fistful of sand and turned to his older brother, Arunay. Ahead lay the Pacific Ocean and an afternoon free of the pandemic’s confinements.
“
Dadabhai,” Siddhant said, addressing his 12-year-old brother with a Bengali term of endearment. “This is a bad beach.”
He was referring to the rocks in the sand, nothing more. The boys’ parents walked over to greet their cluster of friends camped near the base of a cliff. The tight-knit pandemic bubble of four families often met along the San Mateo County coast on weekends. This was the Fremont family’s first time at Cowell, a secluded cove south of Half Moon Bay.
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On Tuesday, family and friends continued to search for the 12-year-old boy who was swept into the ocean at Cowell Ranch State Beach on Monday afternoon.
The boy, Arunay Pruthi of Fremont, had been at the beach with his father and 8-year-old brother when the family was caught by a rogue wave, an ocean phenomenon that creates a wave significantly larger than those surrounding it.
Monday was a sunny day and many visitors flocked to the Coastside for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday. A high surf advisory kept some close to the shore, but others werenât so fortunate. The ocean has proven unpredictable lately and that led to some close-call rescues and one other person lost at sea.
An Indian American family from Fremont, Calif., is completely shattered after their 12-year-old son was swept away by a sneaker wave at a beach in Half Moon Bay Jan. 18.
Arunay Pruthi, a seventh grader at BASIS Independent Fremont, and his family had taken advantage of the warm weather on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and headed off to the Cowell Ranch State Beach in San Mateo County, not realizing the danger of the surf, reported KTVU Fox 2.
âHe was a reasonably good swimmer,â Tarun Pruthi, his father, told the news channel. âIt was a warm day, but the waves were big.â