Missing Soldier Dragged into Ocean at Same State Park Where a Dad and Daughter, 7, Died Over Week Earlier

Authorities say the man who disappeared after being swept into the ocean at a California beach is a U.S. Army soldier — the same rugged coastline where a father and his 7-year-old daughter were pulled from the water just over a week earlier.

On Monday, Nov. 24, officials identified the missing man as Amanpreet Thind, a U.S. Army Specialist from New Jersey, who vanished three days earlier near Garrapata State Park in Monterey County. Thind is a student at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

“As search and recovery operations continue, we hold out hope that Spc. Thind will be found,” Col. Christy L. Whitfield, commandant at the institute, said in a statement.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the Thind family during this difficult time,” Whitfield added. “We are providing those impacted with every resource and support service available and extend our heartfelt gratitude to local, state, and national first responders working tirelessly to locate Spc. Thind.”

The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.

Around 3 p.m. local time on Nov. 22, authorities received reports that a man, later identified as Thind, and two women “had been swept from the rocks into the ocean” at Soberanes Point. The two women were able to “self-rescue” from the surf and were later released from the hospital with minor injuries, officials said. Thind, however, remains missing.

After Thind was pulled into the Pacific Ocean, a multi-agency search involving helicopters and vessels was launched. By 4:24 p.m., a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter spotted what appeared to be a body in the water, but “dangerous surf conditions” caused rescuers to lose visual contact.

Search and rescue teams were unable to relocate the missing man, who was last seen wearing a white turban along with a black shirt, shorts and vest. Crews searched for Thind until 7 p.m. that evening, when darkness and deteriorating conditions forced them to pause operations, authorities said.

The search resumed on Sunday, Nov. 23, but strong winds and hazardous surf hampered efforts, including those of divers attempting to look for Thind underwater. Teams returned again on Monday morning, but by the afternoon, the water was too dangerous to enter, according to the sheriff’s office.

“Conditions appear favorable for Wednesday, and a water search may begin depending on those conditions,” officials said Monday, urging the public to avoid the Soberanes Point area while the search continues. A beach hazard warning remained in effect until late that night, with rip currents and sneaker waves — some breaking between 13 and 18 feet — considered possible.

The extreme conditions have already proven deadly. Just over a week earlier, a 7-year-old girl and her father were swept into the ocean by 15-to-20-foot waves at Garrapata State Park. Both died, authorities said.

“The public is asked to stay off rocks and back from the water’s edge,” the sheriff’s office warned. “Ocean waves are unpredictable and pose a safety hazard to the public.”