Friends of the 24-year-old woman tragically sucked in by powerful waves at a California beach described the terrifying moments they lost sight of her in the surf.
asserted
they → suck → surf
Se Nah Park, 24, disappeared at Panther State Beach in the Bay Area after gathering around a beach bonfire with five of her friends last week.
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Park → disappear → friends
She has yet to be found.
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She → have → ?
Park’s friends Marie and Jasmine told the East Bay Times they had burned note cards with their wishes for the future before they fled the beach as waves pounded the coast around 8 p.m.
There was no indication anything was wrong, Marie said.
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Marie → tell → coast
The group was unaware of National Weather Service warnings about hazardous surf capable of producing deadly waves.
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group → produce → waves
The friends hugged and recalled their parting words to Park.
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friends → hug → Park
“The last thing I said to her was, ‘I’m so grateful that you’ve been my friend for so long, and even if we haven’t talked in a while, I really want this to continue.
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this → say → while
Can we stay friends?” Marie recounted.
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Marie → stay → ?
“And she said, ‘yes.
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she → say → ?
I really like that.’”
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I → like → that
As they headed through a keyhole passage in the rocks with Park’s two male cousins, a huge wave came crashing in.
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wave → head → cousins
It knocked the group off their feet, disoriented them and shoved them into the water.
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It → knock → water
Jasmine emerged from the water just in time for another wave to slam her into an oceanside cliff, dislocating her shoulder.
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wave → emerge → shoulder
She described the horrifying moment.
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She → describe → moment
“You can’t really see anything because you’re surrounded with so much fear,” Jasmine said, “and it’s in the dark, and it was so loud.
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it → see → dark
The cousins helped Jasmine through the keyhole passage to safety before going back for Park.
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cousins → help → Park
They couldn’t hear anything.
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They → hear → anything
Jasmine said she thought she saw an iPhone flashlight glowing in the face of a swell about 30 feet out.
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flashlight → say → swell
She couldn’t tell whether the light came from Park.
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light → tell → Park
Realizing Park was missing, and unable to call 911 from the beach, the group hurried up a cliffside trail.
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group → realize → trail
They found a signal and called emergency responders.
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They → find → responders
Hoping Park had made it back to Marie and another guest, Jasmine and Park’s two male cousins had a haunting question for them.
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Park → hop → them
“Is Se Nah with you?” they called.
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they → call → you
But Park was nowhere to be found.
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Park → find → ?
Marie realized that her friend was gone.
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friend → realize → ?
“This isn’t happening,” she said to herself.
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she → happen → herself
Emergency crews arrived at the scene and treated the group.
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crews → arrive → group
An ambulance took Jasmine to the hospital.
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ambulance → take → hospital
Marie collapsed while recounting her story to the East Bay Times, lamenting that she hadn’t been the one swept away.
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she → collapse → Times
“It should have been me,” she said.
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she → say → ?
Marie has feared online harassment from people blaming her for Park’s disappearance.
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Marie → fear → disappearance
But she has also struggled with guilt of her own.
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she → struggle → own
“I should have known not to come here, I should have known better,” Marie said.
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Marie → know → ?
“Everyone’s telling me it’s not my fault, but I should have taken care of everyone.
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I → tell → everyone
But I just want her back.”
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I → want → her
The guilt weighed so heavily on Marie that she expected to be turned away from Se Nah’s church, San Jose Christian Alliance Church, during a special prayer service.
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she → weigh → service
“I expected them to turn me down at the door,” she said, but instead found an outpouring of compassion.
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she → expect → compassion
“I was overwhelmed at how much love and forgiveness there was.”
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I → overwhelm → ?
The pastor’s wife told Jasmine she had received a second chance at life, she said.
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she → tell → life
The U.S. Coast Guard called off the search for Park the day after her disappearance, offering their “deepest condolences are with her family and loved ones.”
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condolences → call → family
…and 5 more, not listed.
The Aporia
