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Ben Margot / AP
A couple walks along North Beach as a helicopter searches for Charles Quaid at Point Reyes National Seashore, Calif.
A California man who waded into choppy waves to rescue his wife and dog drowned after he was swept out to sea on New Year's day.
Charles Quaid, 59, entered the Pacific Ocean at Point Reyes National Seashore after his wife and dog became caught in tumultuous waves, Marin County Fire Department Battalion Chief Mike Giannini confirmed to NBC News.
The undertow and rip currents at the beach were so powerful they "would challenge even the strongest swimmers," Giannini said.
Good Samaritans helped wrench Quaid's wife from the 10-to-12-foot waves, according to Giannini, and the family's dog returned to shore unharmed.
But Quaid was dragged more than a half-mile off shore, and police were called shortly after 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Giannini said.
Emergency response crews from the fire department, the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Park Service searched for Quaid for hours before rescuers on jet skis found his body at 4 p.m. A paramedic pronounced Quaid dead soon after, Giannini said.
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Quaid's body was transferred to the county coroner's office. Quaid's wife was evaluated by a medical team and released with no injuries.
Quaid's death marks the second time in just over a month that a California family met a tragic end after trying to rescue their dog from rocky ocean waves. In late November, three members of the same family drowned at a beach north of Eureka, Calif., while attempting to pull their dog from forceful rip currents.
Giannini said the tragic events should encourage beachgoers to be more cautious.
People must have a "very, very keen awareness of the power of water," he said. "People may feel as if they have a good comfort level. But what you can't see can sometimes be a real threat."
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Leave a Comment:
Dang... he must have really loved that dog...
LOL MAX.. It sounds as if he really loved his wife too..
@at Kjosee....nah, you can replace the wife but not the dog:) lol
C'mon guys. Have compassion man. The guy is dead not to mention technically died a hero trying to save his wife. Jesus.
R.I.P. Mr. Quaid. The guys above would've done the same thing even though they "think" you'd be cracking jokes about it.
I second everything Creek Dog says. Also, to the dog owners. Don't ever jump in the water to rescue your dog! The dog owners end up drowning and the dog always survives.
True ^, I've read this same story (incident wise) on here twice earlier this year. The dog always survives. The man did what anyone else would have done to save their wife. He is a hero in my book. My condolences to the family.
On another note maybe it wasn't the waves that killed Mr Quaid, Maybe it was the "star whackers" that are after Randy and this was just a case of mistaken Identity. LOL.
Creek Dog -
The man died trying to rescue his dog. He hadn't gotten to his wife yet.
dude, that's hilarious, I know it's wrong and I am going to get a lot of crap but that made me chuckle.
How tragic. I would have instinctively done the same. Dogs are strong swimmers, though, and of the two most recent incidents, the dogs survived while the owners drowned. My thoughts and prayers are with the family.
Only the immature laugh at tragic deaths.
You'll never see someone crack a joke about a tragic death in their family. This is what makes "everyone" outside their family "fair Game" in their minds...
Right on Creek Dog, I like you, you are good person...
Dude, I'm not laughing at his death. He was brave but not smart. WTF were they doing this close to the waves? And knowing life, it started with the stupid dog getting swept away, then the stupid wife jumps in to help the dog, and then the dude has no choice and tries to help. The water is f...king cold and the dude does not know how to handle the rip current and gets swept away. It is all very sad but also very unnecessary and has dark humor in it.
No one on newsvine thinks a tragic loss of life under these circumstances is funny. We live in a world full of heartbreak and sadness.
Only the immature can't take a joke.
@Creek Dog and Onlyyoucanghangethelaws: dogs drown, too. It happens all the time. Any mammal can drown at any time, they only have to become exhausted and breathe in water. Whales and dolphins drown.
Bulldogs and bloodhounds are very poor swimmers. They barely float. Pugs drown easily. The size of the dog matters, too. The smaller the dog the faster hypothermia would set in and the faster it would tire. Your blanket statement that dogs are always all right is invalid. The two dogs to which you refer were fortunate. You might call them lucky dogs.
@Creek Dog... You always post proper and keep things in perspective. Thank you. The only thing more horrifying for Mister Quaid would have been to watch his wife drown. It sucks he died but he died trying to do the right thing.
Deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Quaid. No greater show of courage can be done than to risk and give your own life to save another.
Our thoughts and prayers are with you.
I am a helicopter dog mom. Would never take my dogs unleashed and never close to any water. I know, I'm smothering their creative freedom...
What a horrible way to go! Why were they in that freezing frigid water in the first place?! Any decent man would've done the same to rescue his family. There's just no way of knowing there's a rip current nor how strong it is until you're caught up in it. I cannot imagine how long he must've fought those waves until he became to exhausted to fight. He was and is a hero. My condolences to his family and friends.
Exactly how close to the ocean do you have to get to see it? Doesn't the surf get rough every winter?
Sneaker waves on the Pacific coast are killers. You can be out on the coast for days, never see one, and then let your attention wander for a moment and find yourself underwater.
Jeanette -
"helicopter dog mom?" Not sure what that is, but my lab loves to be off-leash whenever possible, and is afforded that freediom (not creativity) whenever it is legal. . .
Good Lord people. Stay out of the water!!!!!!!!!!
Yep, Chief Brody had it right.
No kidding, they were probably numb already. Hard to swim very good when you can't feel your limbs. The beaches in California are freezing in the SUMMER time.
Which time? When he said "Stay out of the water" or when he said " You're gonna need a bigger boat"? Probably both I think.
Sneaker waves are gonna getcha! You can stay out of the water, but the water will come to you.
I think the picture by Ben Margot from AP is a candidate for an award. It's remarkable.
Sorry about the guy, though; although drowning is not a bad way to die.
Drowning is incredibly painful. I don't know why you would think it's not a bad way to go...
What do you base your statement on? Drowning is NOT painful; it's rather calm and peaceful, so don't worry if you can't swim. When a body is RECOVERING from near-drowning, however, it can be painful.
mozzie - Drowning is "calm and peaceful". Are you kidding me? When was the last time you drowned? Idiot!
Even potential drowning is scary beyond belief! When you are being pulled under and cannot get air and start losing your strength, the fear is beyond belief. I know, it happened to me once. Was on a fishing boat when a huge and unexpected storm came in and threw three of us overboard into the ocean. I am an excellent swimmer, but no way to fight the huge waves. We were pulled under over and over again and all three of us were washed away in different directions! We were fortunate though, because other boats came in quickly. All three of us were pulled to safety on larger boats and taken to shore. I knew death was minutes or seconds away.
Don't tell me how "calm and peaceful" drowning is!
AllPeople: You don't need to call people names to get your point across. You may be an idiot, since you feel qualified to call other people that; but I am not.
My point is that once the body accepts that it is going to lose its life and stops struggling, it relaxes and the actual drowning part is not traumatic. Anticipation of drowning, however, to your point, can be terrifying.
BTW, try to practice not being rude.
mozzie,
That has to be one of the dumbest things Ive seen. People have clawed their faces trying to get air. Its considered one of the worst ways to die. What are you talking about?
Mozzie-600 is correct at least from people who have drowned and been brought back. I was at a party once and met a person - somehow, we talked about how we each had died before. I was trapped in a burning car, the fear of burning was immense while I tried to get out, but when I realized that I was not going to get out, but was going to die - I inhaled all the smoke I could and a peace like none other came over me - I mean no disrespect when I say that I was not religious then, nor am I now - but dying was wonderfully blissful. It was becoming alive that was horrific and very painful. I said that I would run into a burning building to save someone anytime and if I didn't make it, then so be it - the peace was indescribable. I then told her my only fear of death was drowning - even though I was a lifeguard for years (at lakes and the ocean) and swim weekly (yuck=pool).
She didn't swim and was accidentally thrown off a boat, like me she had a moment of panic and then she described the same overwhelming peace, you know you are dying but everything is OK - there is no word to describe the peaceful feeling. She drowned, had no heartbeat, no breath - a person jumped off the boat and pulled her up, they saved her and she also described it as horribly painful to be brought back.
Back to this article - it is a tragedy for the family and we all should respect that.
You're talking about panic, which I agree is distressing. I'm not talking about that. My point, again, is that once the body accepts that it is dying by suffocation, it relaxes and the inevitable takes over, painlessly.
Black Kettle: Thanks for your affirming comments.
Thank you mozzie-600 - it is a sensitive subject but I can say that after the two of us (her greatest fear was death by fire) had discussed the peace which did come to us at death -I no longer fear drowning and she no longer fears fire... once again, condolences for the family - hopefully they will read a letter of a drowning victim who describes the same peace after revival.
Only if you plunge into Arctic cold waters like the people on the Titanic.
I think drowning is one of the WORST ways to go. Go hold your breath at the bottom of a pool. Wait one minute down there..if you can..and see how badly you want to swim your little heart out to get back to the surface to suck in some air!! I'd much rather die in my sleep than by drowning, especially in an ocean where they may not ever find my body. No thanks.
I am with you on this Allpeoplerights, I also almost drowned, and Mozzie is an idiot. Its not that "your body accepts that its dying", its that at that point YOU ARE UNCONSCIOUS and therefore you can't fight to survive anymore. And IT IS PAINFUL AND EXTREMELY DISTRESSING to try to breathe and be unable to.
Anna, you are an ignorant woman; and I'm sorry that your limited vocabulary prevents you from expressing yourself more civilly. My suggestion is that you take your drowning experience to the next level so that you can see that my point is valid.
Well mozzie, the ignorant woman tells you that you are the one who is ignorant, you are the one who has no idea what he/she is talking about, unless of course you almost drowned yourself. It is indeed a painful and difficult way to die. I am guessing that your version of pain only includes what you would feel from a broken leg or a punch in the face for example, but pain is not only that, it is painful to be unable to breathe, in a different way, but nonetheless very painful and difficult. I also find the way you minimise the pain people who died drowning went through absolutely despicable.
Rip currents kill, no matter what your swimming level , but those who know will survive as you have to swim parallel to them to escape the outward pull to sea...Ocean lifeguards practice what to do when a rip current attacks a swimmer...and how to rescue them....it's knowing to recognize what's happening to give the proper response...by the trained guards..thanks to ALL the beach guards ..world wide....you rule.
So sorry to hear this. Condolences to the family.
FINALLY, an intelligent comment!
Dumba**!
Dumba** for trying to save his wife and dog? Grow up.
Inigo,
Yeah, you get all kinds here. Just think of their personality when you read a post like that. It's what I do.
They're so dry up there, they don't know what to write. So they post something totally ridiculous to see how other people react. I guess you can call it "personality exercises".
Have a nice day...
"Personality exercises" or "Personality Disorders"?
If you are ever in a situation where you are drowning Jamie, just hope someone will be "dumb" enough to try to help you, either a human or a dog. I can't believe the total lack of empathy from some people. I would do the same thing if a loved one was drowning, including my dog. Speaking of dogs, I have a brother-in-law who almost almost died drowning (when he was a child) and his dog saved HIS life.
People tend to underestimate the power of water. It is heavy and incompressible, it can hold tremendous amounts of energy (heat) and carry electrical current. There aren't too many that underestimate it that live to tell about it.
Why was the wife and dog so far out into the rough waves? It seems rather odd that if the waves were so rough, why would you take a dog and yourself into such rough conditions which also posed a danger to everyone involved.
It seems odd how this whole thing transpired.
Have you walked along the edge of the shore? Where the surf does come in, and rush under your feet? The sand shifts. The stronger the pull of the current, the easier it is to have the sand washed right out from under your feet, you on your butt and another wave rushing in to pull you out. It's not that hard to understand.
Third paragraph said that there was a strong undertow and rip currents that would challenge a strong swimmer. You can be in water up to your ankles when a rip current comes in and pulls you down. That happened to me 35 years ago. In those days, they didn't tell you that there were rip currents and a bunch of us were in the water and pulled under. Fortunately, we all managed to right ourselves and get out, but it is very scary to go under.
An unexpected wave broke over them and dragged the wife and dog far out to sea. It's in the article.
Hold -
you are right to be questioning this! CIA tapes (never to be revealed) disclose that the dog was a secret member of Mossad and the wife was a Russian counter-agent. Global warning agents have revealed that the surf was .03 dgrees (C) below average and that this caused the whole mess.
Penguins in the antarctic did not immediately return calls asking for comment!
Common sense--that all it would have taken--just common sense-anyone living near or visiting the oceans frequently know this--think--and with all the media attention already that was focused on these types of situations it was avoidable. Again, without assistance the dog made it to shore on its own. Condolences to the widow, Not the way anyone should start a New Year.
Looking at the size of those waves, why would anyone in their right mind would want to get that close to the water.
Obviously, they shouldn't have been that close to the water coming up on shore. Obviously, they were unaware of the power of the ocean. Very sad!
In California, rogue waves can be deceiving. Once, while driving along the coast, we saw a large truck way out on the beach, near the waterline. Like other dumb lookielous we stopped, thinking that someone had driven it out there and gotten stuck in the sand. Another onlooker said that, no, a rogue wave had washed it out there from the road (Highway 1, north of Fort Bragg). We asked "when" thinking perhaps days before as there was a LOT of beach between the road where we had parked and the sand. "Fifteen minutes ago" was the answer. Needless to say, we drove as fast as we could to higher ground!
No. 1, keep your dog on a leash. No. 2, if your dog does go into a particularly rough ocean, his chances of surviving are far greater, so let him just hang 20 and ride the waves back to shore. I feel for the family, but a little common sense goes a long way.
The article is unclear if the dog and wife went out together in the rip tide current or if the wife went in after the dog. For some reason you tend the wife went after the poodle and then the husband picking up shells looks up and sees it unfolding....through the years - it seems the dogs - whatever breed seem to survive so many things that people don't - they seem to come back from flooding, torrential rain, rip tides, cross wild terrain with little water - all sorts of things - and the people are always found dead - dogs seem to crawl out of earthquake destroyed villages - they seem to be built better on so many levels or something
Obviously we should ban dogs and water... Its about time we passed some anti drowning legislation.
... said the retard.
Did you think of that all by yourself? Do you chuckle with glee at how clever you are? Your special-ed class must be soooooo proud of you!
..said the retarded a**hole.
gosh -god (the name says it all), cut repub some slack. I'm sure he was only joking. Maybe not a good time to joke, but it clearly was a joke.
Pissed you off, huh, Billy? Cool!
I see you finally learned the "I know you are but what am I?" defense, made famous by children everywhere. How many years did it take you to learn that?
@Interesting: it's not a joke after the 100,000th time. Anyone who would still find it funny now is clearly retarded.
Do you find politics in every thought? What a life you must have.
-god,
Not everyone is on these boards all the time. It may be original to him. Calm down dude. You're more annoying than he was with your whiny rant.
Some people should quit taking themselves so serious. Don't like someones joke? Then just move along to the next post. Attacking and calling names is less intelligent than the bad humor. I personally will make jokes and laugh at what ever I choose. Life is far too short not to laugh at.
Jokes are best left to events where someone has not died.
As far as -god goes: talk about her/him, but to. Some trolls get paid by the post, others by the click!
So sad! My condolences to his wife and family.
That kind of thing happens often....the undertow can be dangerous
I would ask what was she doing in the water with waves like that; but many years ago a friend and I were in water just over our ankles thinking it would be okay; we had a hard time getting out because of the extremely strong undertow and the sand giving way under our feet. Our husbands had to come in and help us out. The force of water can be extremely powerful. I will never go near the ocean again if the undertow is strong. Fortunately, I didn't lose my husband to learn that lesson. My condolences to the family.
I grew up close to the Atlantic Ocean. I'm not a good swimmer, so I guess I pay more attention to the water than a lot of people who have no fear. When the waves and undertow start getting strong, it doesn't usually happen immediately. It starts out just knocking on your feet/legs and then it starts getting stronger, until it gets strong enough to knock you over. You have to pay attention to those signs. There is usually enough time to get out of the water. I don't know the situation here; it doesn't say whether or not she was saving the dog or just hanging in the water with the dog. But it sounds as if they knew they were in choppy water. So sad. Very sorry for this man's loss of his wife.
They are in water of 10 to 12 foot waves...?? It's true, you can't fix stupid.
The wife and dog were probably pulled out from shore because of the power of the undercurrent. The husband tried to rescue the wife. Unaware of the strength of the ocean, probably, but that doesn't mean they were stupid. The husband was a hero. He tried to save his wife. You don't have to call him stupid for that.
And enough with the "you can't fix stupid." My god, you guys can beat a joke to death! It wasn't that funny to begin with!!!
That was originally the title of a Ron White comedy DVD.
Now, for some reason that I can't begin to imagine, people think they're being clever and creative when they use it.
We can't fix THEM.
You do not understand. The waves are OFF shore. The BEACH looks safe. Until one of those offshore waves comes in.
the sad thing is that usually the dog's swim back.
And that is "sad" how?
Nevermind, I got it. The dog's (singular posseive) swim back! OK
Before you touch one part of this beach,there are many signs warning you of rip wides and rogue waves.Every year,the same thing happens.Darwins' Law! Some get to stay a little longer than other! His wife should be charged with manslaughter for getting too close to the water.I was there once when the exact same thing happened,save the dog.The woman got lucky,Park Rangers were in the immediate area and rescued her about 400 yards off shore.
"His wife should be charged with manslaughter for getting too close to the water."
Perhaps the most ridiculous thing I've ever read in these comment sections. You my friend are a complete moron.
The sea is potentialy deadly and unforgiving. Inexperienced people seem to think it's just water what's the problem. One of the worst problems where I live are submerged logs. The sea turns them into steamrollers. I am sorry for the tragic loss.
mas -
"manslaughter for getting too close to the water?
Hilarious!
It seems like most of these tragedies begin when people try to save their dogs, and usually the dogs are OK but the people who tried to save them are dead. There is a lesson to be learned here: Your dog can swim better than you.
That is true. I guess when you are watching your dog get swept away, you don't think logically and just jump in to try and save him.
Just for the record, if I ever die and it makes headlines (yeah right!), I'm totally cool with you guys cracking jokes about it. Really, I don't care at all.
Tragic. RIP Mr. Quaid and condolences to his family.
Kudos to the man trying to save his wife...I think any of our spouse's would do the same but just as in the other Cali story of 2 months ago (only in CA) a couple and their teenage son all perished while trying to save the family dog.
C'mon people, get smart. I love dogs but hate rip currents and would not tempt fate.
I know these people were from California but for visitors who are not used to the Pacific and it aggressive wave patterns you can get in trouble being in what you are sure is a safe (dry) place. It's not uncommon to see people knocked off of their feet and washed outward by a quick rouge. Especially easterners used to the southern Atlantic coast.
Never been knocked off my feet and washed outward by a quick rouge -
but was once swept off my feet by a rude quickie! (No rouge involved)
What? Did I just read the waves were 10-12'? Jeesh, ding dongs!!
Oh YES....well put lawful1.....can't dispute that!
Years ago I was walking my long hair dachshund (Shatzie) at Victoria Beach in Laguna Beach, Ca and a wave came up out of nowhere and swept her out I started to go after her and a surfer stopped me and said she'll be okay..and she was...I am so grateful this young man stopped me and I also got a good lesson...when it is stormy or anytime the waves might be high, keep your dog on a leash and stay on safe ground for your own sake and others....by the way he did say he would try and go out if she did not make it back on her own...thank goodness we got lucky.
I'm glad I read this - my first instinct would be get hysterical and go for the dog - like a child - and yet the dog is more capable than I would ever be - You know all dogs were running wild before we domesticated them - they must have learned a lot of self reliance before we started dragging them into our houses, feeding them from our dinner table and letting them crawl up in our beds - all those millions of years - come back to them - and they know what to do - and "us" - well, we just sink like a rock.
Wants to know
Exactly.