WARRENTON, OR — A United States Coast Guard search and rescue team rescued two adults and a child stranded on a jetty at North Cove on Willapa Bay on Sunday after the trio became trapped by a rising tide.

Two male adults, one minor male approximately 8-9 years old and their dog became stranded off the Washaway Beach Jetty at about 2:14 p.m. after a rising tide covered their exit back to shore.

“They were not far offshore, but far enough to make it too dangerous for them to swim back to shore,” Coast Guard Public Affairs Officer Cynthia Oldham said.

One of the men was the young boy’s father, but the relation of the other man involved was not available.

At 2:16 p.m. Sunday a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew out of Astoria, OR diverted from a training mission and arrived at 2:48 p.m.

A rescue swimmer was deployed and the crew began hoisting the stranded beach-goers off the rocks and away from the rising water.

According to Oldham, the father and child were hoisted together.

“They pulled them up together because the boy was nervous to go up in the basket,” she said.

The rescued were then airlifted to a nearby field at 3:31 p.m., where Pacific County Sheriff’s deputies waited to help return them to their vehicle.

No details were available regarding the number of Coast Guard personnel involved, but flight crews of this nature typically have two pilots, an Aircraft Commander, a Flight Mech (either electrician or mechanic that manages the rescue hoist) and a Rescue Swimmer.

Oldham said that though this event was not out of the ordinary for the rescue team, having a child involved made it slightly more difficult.

“While this was a routine rescue for them, it was a little more challenging because it involved a child and the child was really nervous to go up in the basket. (The Coast Guard team) tried to take him up by himself and once they saw the child was panicking a little, they re-lowered the basket and the dad got in with him so he was not as nervous going up to the helicopter. They both made it into the aircraft safely.”

US Coast Guard Lieutenant Derrick Rocky offered this advice: Know tide information and be aware of your surroundings to avoid being stranded.

“This case demonstrates how important it is for beach-goers to be aware of their surroundings,” he said. “Search for a tide table of your area before going to the beach to be sure you don’t get trapped by rising waters.”

Tide tables for Grays Harbor County can be found at https://www.tides.net/washington/11/?year=2019&month=05/. And for Pacific County: https://www.tides.net/washington/2247/