Oregon man, toddler swept out to sea by wave

CURRY COUNTY, Ore. – The U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search Monday for a 31-year-old man and his 3-year-old son who were swept into the Pacific Ocean from a beach near Floras Lake.

The Coast Guard announced the search had been suspended at 11:51 a.m. Monday morning. The Coast Guard, using helicopter crews as well as a 47-foot life boat, covered 583 total miles over 22 hours searching for the father and his son. Oregon state police troopers and other first responders scoured the beach using ATVs.

A family from the Eugene area had been on the beach at Boice Cope County Park, about four miles north of Cape Blanco, Oregon, when the wife and mother saw the father, identified by Oregon State Police as Jayson Dean Thomas, and toddler swept away by a wave.

Emergency personnel responded to the beach at about 1 p.m.

The father's coat and a child carrier he was wearing were found in the surf, according to a report from the U.S. Coast Guard.

This area of the beach has a steep angle to the water, according to the OSP report, and the seas were rough at the time of the incident.

The US Coast Guard searched with two helicopters and a motor lifeboat, while OSP troopers and other first responders scoured the beach using ATVs.

The name of the toddler has not been released.