A Santa Monica family is pleading for authorities to continue the search for a 22-year-old college student who went missing in the ocean waters off the Bay Area last week.
Hamzah Alsaudi, a senior on the wrestling team at San Francisco State University, disappeared Jan. 19 after taking a “cold plunge” in the ocean at Esplanade Beach in Pacifica. Teammates told police Alsaudi went in with two teammates but was swept away by a large wave.
“It’s very hard to accept that they stopped the search for a strong person like Hamzah,” said his mother, Nadia Shaheen.
Police said rescue crews searched for Alsaudi until about 8:30 p.m. on the day he disappeared. He was never found and was declared missing.
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The Alsaudi family plans to continue the search despite authorities telling them they do not think anyone could survive more than a few hours in the conditions that morning, which included a high tide and very rough waves.
“No one really wants to hear that. I want to be hopeful and I am hopeful that he's OK and we will find him,” his sister Yasra Alsaudi said.
The family is now pleading for police, the Coast Guard or anyone else to help them find Alsaudi.
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“My heart tells me he's alive. He's alive and seeking help,” Shaheen said.
