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Woman in Her 70s Dies After Wave Sweeps Her From Rocks at MacKerricher State Park

Authorities consider the case non-suspicious pending a forensic exam.

People walk along a water basin at Glass Beach in Fort Bragg on March 7, 2022. A woman in her 70s died after being swept into the ocean by a large wave at a Northern California state park on Monday, Dec. 22, 2025, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.
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FILE: MacKerricher Beach, Calif.

Overview

  • The woman, believed to be in her 70s, was knocked from shoreline rocks by a large wave at MacKerricher Beach just north of Fort Bragg shortly after 2 p.m. Monday.
  • Deputies were sent after a Cal Fire dispatch request, bystanders pulled her from the water, and despite advanced life-saving efforts she was pronounced dead at the scene.
  • Witnesses told deputies the wave swept her into the ocean, she appeared to be alone, and investigators found no suspicious circumstances.
  • No identification was located, and investigators searched parked vehicles and checked missing-person reports as they work to confirm who she is.
  • A forensic post-mortem is scheduled to determine the official cause and manner of death during a period of hazardous surf and winter storms on the North Coast.