A man caught in a riptide off the Cranberry Beach approach in Grayland at the Grays Harbor/Pacific County line was able to get back to shore with assistance from a State Parks employee Wednesday.

The South Beach Regional Fire Authority was dispatched to the scene when witnesses on the beach saw the man struggling about 200 yards offshore, said Regional Fire Authority Captain Dave Bell. State Parks personnel were the first to arrive on the scene.

“He had been pulled about 200 yards south along the beach and was struggling out there when bystanders saw him and called it in,” said Bell.

The emergency call from bystanders came in around 5:30 p.m. Initial reports indicated the man had been surfing, but Bell said it was determined the man was swimming.

The man was able to gain a foothold somehow and Bell said it was State Parks South Beach area manager Miles Wenzel who was able to reach him and assist him to shore. Bell said the man refused any medical assistance.

“It ended the best way it could have,” said Bell.