According to the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office, Senah Park was at the beach with a group of friends around 8 p.m. when an incoming tide knocked several people into the water. The others were able to make it back to shore, but Park was carried out to sea.

Rescue crews have deployed drones, boats, and a helicopter to aid in the multi-agency search. The operation involves local sheriff's deputies, Cal Fire personnel, and specialized dive teams.

"The hope is that we find her somewhere safe, hopefully stranded on a beach somewhere," said Daniel Robbins of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office. Robbins emphasized the extreme hazards of the area, citing "strong water, strong rip tides, big waves and lots of rocks along the shoreline that can incapacitate people if they get hit by those waves."

The search comes amid a stretch of hazardous beach conditions along the Central Coast. Michael Horn, a Cal Fire CZU information officer, said the region frequently experiences dangerous surf this time of year. "That section of coast this time of year is almost always in a hazardous beach hazard notifications sort of stage," Horn said. "If the sand is wet chances are the ocean has been there recently and it's gonna come back there again especially when you have a cycle of large swells that we've been having last couple of months and moving forward into these next king tides and higher surf and times."

Santa Cruz County has issued safety alerts urging the public to exercise caution along the shoreline. The coastline has seen multiple emergencies in recent months, including a September rescue of two fishermen, a July rescue in Santa Cruz, and a fatal incident in June when two young women from Fremont were caught off guard by a sneaker wave.

Juan Heredia of the Angels Recovery Dive Team, who often assists families by recovering bodies in dangerous waters, warned that hazardous conditions may persist for months. "We have very bad condition and this condition with El Niño it's gonna take pretty much until February or March for the ocean to go down, so don't get closer," Heredia said. "They think that the ocean is safe for them to get closer, but they have to respect the warning because the authority that do the put the warning there, it's for the reason."

The search for Park is ongoing. Anyone with information is urged to contact the Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office.