An ocean-related incident off the Pacific Boulevard Northwest beach approach in Ocean Shores was kept from getting any worse for a mom and her two kids on Monday by an unrelated, unidentified good Samaritan.
A call to local responders shortly after noon Monday reported two kids in distress, with an adult unable to reach the children.
"Actually, there were two children that were in a deep tide pool," said Ocean Shores Deputy Chief of Police Kyle Watson. "The pool had a swift current, the two children kept going deeper in, their mother attempted to yell at them to stop. They were not able to hear her."
The mom went into the water after her kids, but was unable to get to them.
"A subject not with them was advised of the situation from his daughter playing in the area," said Watson. "He swam out and made contact with both of the boys and the mother. He escorted them into safety. They were walking out of the water when all responders arrived on scene."
The Ocean Shores incident happened the same day the U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search on Monday evening for a 14-year-old boy, who was reportedly swept offshore while swimming near Long Beach earlier that afternoon.
The teen was reported missing by his friend, who confirmed he was wearing a red swimmers cap, gray T-shirt and black swim shorts, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
The Coast Guard was notified of the incident at 2:06 p.m. Monday. A helicopter crew and motor lifeboat crew were on the scene at 2:30 p.m. Coast Guard crews and multiple partner agencies participated in the coordinated search operations. The Coast Guard covered an approximately 52-square-mile area, completing eight searches over 18 hours.
The search was suspended at 10:26 p.m. Monday.
