2 fishermen rescued, 1 still missing near Muir Beach overlook

Rescue workers are trying to find one fisherman in the waters near Muir Beach, the National Park Service's Golden Gate office said on Monday.

Two other men who had also somehow fallen into the water have already been brought ashore, the NPS said. They were rescued by helicopter and were unharmed, authorities said.

The three had hiked down a steep, rocky area from the Muir Beach Overlook where there is no trail leading to the water, the NPS said. All three are cousins and experienced fishermen.

One of the fishermen said he tried to save his cousin, but the waves were too strong and he had to save himself. 

"I let him go," said Marlin Padilla about his cousin, Jose. Jose is in his late 20s, and has a fiancé.

Marlin said he and his cousins had been there since 11:30 a.m. 

After an hour and a half, they decided to move to another spot. He said Jose was on a rock, when he was hit by a sudden wave. 

"The waves just swallowed him down. He was asking, ‘Help me! Help me! Help me!’ I just took all my clothes off and jumped to the water and I grabbed him. But he was about 12 feet away from [where I] was," Marlin said. "The waves were insanely big and were pulling me down as well. I was just swallowing a lot of water." 

The relatives say the family is from Honduras and Marlin says he and his cousins go fishing often, though it was the first time being at that Muir Beach.

By chance, Marin Beach Fire Chief Chris Gove was walking at the outlook and saw the men.

"I saw one guy on the rock and one guy in the water trying to help the other guy out and then yelling and screaming," Gove said. 

Gove called for an emergency response around 1:20 p.m. Rescue crews were on the scene within 15 minutes. 

"We had a jet ski come in from Stinson Beach. Two jet skis come from Sausalito, a sheriff's boat, a Coast Guard boat," Gove said. 

Rescue workers could be seen from SkyFOX hurrying along the shore at the edge of the surf.

Muir Beach is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. A Marin firefighter said it was low tide but when the tide came in, it probably took the fishermen off guard. 

Multiple agencies are involved in the effort, having launched helicopters and boats as part of the mission. The California Highway Patrol offered one of its helicopters. 

The helicopters cleared out when nightfall arrived, but they, along with additional boats, will be back out at dawn on Tuesday when search efforts will ramp up again.