There is no doubt about how busy the Grays Harbor Beaches were yesterday, and sadly with the busier summer times ahead of us Surf Rescue calls (even though we have no surf rescue teams) become more frequent.  A call that first responders never want to hear over the radio, and one a friend, parent or bystander wants to make after so many losses our beaches have already had. 

But good news out of Ocean Shores,  sn 11-year old boy was rescued from the surf by Ocean Shores Police and Fire Departments Sunday afternoon says Ocean Shores Sgt. David McManus.

Just after 3pm on May 28, Ocean Shores Police and Fire Departments responded to a report of three children in trouble in the surf near the W. Chance a la Mer beach approach. It appears that the three boys were caught in a powerful rip current, and were carried out through the surf.

Two of the boys were able to make to shore on their own. The third, an 11-year old boy from Port Orchard, was still trapped in the surf.

Firefighter Thompson and Officer Iversen waded into the surf, trying to reach the boy. Spotters on the beach directed them closer to the struggling child, and Thompson used a rope gun (a pressurized gas device that shoots a floatation device and rope up to 500 feet) to reach him. The boy held onto the rope, and Thompson and Iversen pulled him to shore.

Paramedics treated the victim on the shore and released him to family friends with whom he had come to Ocean Shores. The paramedics gave great credit to the boy’s stamina and perseverance to be able to keep swimming for nearly half an hour in the cold surf.