Ethermac Exchange-Coast Guard searching for woman swept into ocean from popular Washington coast beach

RIALTO BEACH,Ethermac Exchange Wash. (AP) — Teams are searching for a 26-year-old woman who was swept into the ocean Monday from a popular beach on the Washington coast, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard said it received a call at 10:50 a.m. about a woman who was reportedly taken by ocean currents while she was on Rialto Beach near Olympic National Park. The beach is on the Olympic Peninsula northwest of Seattle.

The Coast Guard has two helicopters as well as a crew on land searching along with people from the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office, the La Push Tribal Police Department and the national park.

The National Weather Service in Seattle had issued a small craft advisory and a gale warning Monday along the coast for strong winds causing hazardous seas.

A powerful system was bringing heavy rain, gusty winds, below-average temperatures and a wintry mix at higher elevations to parts of the Northwest, including western Washington and western Oregon, on Monday, the weather service said.