Posted on 12/04/2008 4:10:43 PM PST by BGHater
Yup, and sounds like the perfect day to take your newly arrived fiance right into the maelstrom of those perilous waters?
I'll be very glad to have his story corroborated and see this all put to rest. Either way, the tragedy is that this young woman is dead. However, so far the lack of any real corroboration before the "rescue attempt" part of the story, plus the obvious folly in taking someone you love into such a situation, makes me wonder whether there is more to this story.
It is the very peril of such conditions on the Oregon coast that makes me wonder about the whole "proposal in December on a stormy day on the coast" story. Yes, some people do die in similar circumstances every year and maybe this is just another of those tragic cases..... but authorities have to make sure the whole story truly does check out, and the articles so far do not convince the skeptic in me.
You said — “Still suspicious here, thank you. So would either of you take the love of your life into such circumstances in DECEMBER, on a stormy day?”
I hate to tell you, but those are “fun days” to see the raging of the Oregon Coast, to be sure... LOL... BUT, you better be darned careful about it.
In answer to your question, yes, I would and I have... what can I say... :-) But, at the same time, I’m watching those waves carefully and on a day like that, I’m not standing in the water, but watching at a respectful distance.
That's part of the background to what I'm saying - either he knew absolutely nothing of such dangers despite living nearby in Riverton, or else he was incredibly reckless with the well-being of this newly arrived visitor. Ignorant or reckless, or more to the story?
I do have to say, though, that you're the one guy who's come up with a reasonable reason for suspicion -- i.e., he should have known better. If the guy has lived on the Oregon coast for only ten years or so, then ... he might not have known better.
Raise that to probably wouldn't have known better. A lot of people you'd think should know better understimate the ocean. I've seen it a lot -- you have too, right?
You said — “That’s part of the background to what I’m saying - either he knew absolutely nothing of such dangers despite living nearby in Riverton, or else he was incredibly reckless with the well-being of this newly arrived visitor. Ignorant or reckless, or more to the story?”
I’ve gone to Google to read some more news stories. Another part that I picked up was that the guy didn’t call for help — someone else saw it (apparently) because some other call came in and rescue was there in minutes (the article said). His phone got waterlogged and wouldn’t work, he said.
Another part I read was that people go out there during low tide. Sometimes, if you don’t pick it right, the tide can be coming back in and you can get slammed at those times.
Now I know the allure of going out on those kinds of rocks, because I’ve done it and done it many times. They are all over the Oregon Coast. But, I’m also aware of how many people get trapped from going out during low tide and have to be rescued off of these kinds of rocks, too. So, I’m watching the tide and where the water will cut me off, too. I would have gotten nailed by a rogue wave, too — if it had ever happened to me, directly — especially down at Yachats. But, fortunately, it never happened.
And also, it appears that the woman is the one who wanted to go out on the rock, but the guy said that this was what he had in mind, too — but that she was the one that said for them to walk out on the rock — which is a natural thing for someone to do... people do it all the time. I mean, if there is a big rock partly out into the waves, you want to climb out on it...
And one more thing that was said in an article was that the pathway that they were taking (walking along or up to the rock...) was blocking the view of the waves coming in, so they were caught by surprise, not having seen it ahead of time.
As far as being ignorant or reckless — well, all I can say is that you’re taking your chances every time you go out on the Oregon Coast. That’s just the way it is, unless you view it from the highway. But, it’s even been known to have logs tossed up on the highway parking lots from a rogue wave, too...
We hear about people dying on the Oregon Coast all the time, so people know it can happen, but they usually don’t think it will happen to them.... LOL...
From your description, surely you must qualify as a pinhead!
Twenty footers come crashing in! there is no gurgling about them whether its the Oregon Coast or Our Maine Coast here!
At least here in Maine, We are Not Pinheads! have a good time spinnin your yarns:-P
You said — “Raise that to probably wouldn’t have known better. A lot of people you’d think should know better understimate the ocean. I’ve seen it a lot — you have too, right?”
Well, a lot of people just go to the Oregon Coast from inland. And they may not do it very often. You know how it is, sometimes — you’ve got a featured travel area that you live close to and you don’t go very often. That’s the way it’s going to be for most of the people in Oregon. And that guy lived in Silverton (near Salem).
Many people in Oregon just don’t realize the danger and they live there (but don’t live on the coast). Now, I would imagine that a person who lived on the coast would get up-to-speed pretty quickly. But, someone driving in from the Willamette Valley may not be as smart about it.
They don’t always realize the nature and danger of the waves. You hear the media giving warnings all the time about it, but — still — people seem to think differently that what the warnings are indicating.
Once again, this is *such a normal thing* (i.e., what people would do) — that it raises no suspicions in my mind. And neither does it raise the suspicions of the police there in Neskowin, because they’ve seen too many tourists... LOL...
I have lived in the NW for almost 25 years (and Mr. Cat is 4th generation here.) I understand rogue waves get people. My hairdresser was friends with the family where the uncle and nephew were swept away while walking on the beach in N. Cal a few years ago. I know it happens.
I am suspicious, too, just based on how he was talking about the situation. It doesn't pass the smell test. The only plausible excuse I can think of is that he is REALLY socially stunted. I mean he got rid of her wedding dress less than a week after she was swept to sea??? That's love?? And he takes her to that rock this time of year? My husband's family has a beach cabin on the Puget Sound, and we don't go there in the winter, because it's a different place than in the summer.
I’m describing it exactly as that sort of thing happens, from me having seen it on the coast myself. It doesn’t matter what size the waves are — they’re going to stop at some point on the beach. And people are going to be at that point. All it takes is a another three feet added to the size of the waves (at the time) and you’ve got a three-foot wall of water slamming you down...
Now, furthermore, since they were at this rock (in Neskowin, Oregon, if you want to look it up on the map), that meant that they were partially shielded from the waves by the rock itself.
And from what I’ve read in some other articles, they were not in full view of the ocean (where the waves were coming from) and so, it apparently came around the rock and right at them. And that’s easy to do, too, on the Oregon Coast.
So, you’re not in full view of the ocean, and are partially shield from the waves by that big rock and are going around the side of it and one of those rogue waves come in (three foot higher than the rest) and it slams you with three foot high wall of water. That’s how it works...
If you can’t understand that — you either don’t know the ocean or what would happen in a situation like that on the Oregon Coast. I can’t believe you have any knowledge, at all, about the ocean.... :-)
AND, it’s precisely your *inability* to understand this sequence of events that proves to any of the readers *how easily* this sort of thing can happen to anyone else. If you can’t understand it — how do you expect others who are on that beach to understand it either.... LOL...
You said — “ And he takes her to that rock this time of year? My husband’s family has a beach cabin on the Puget Sound, and we don’t go there in the winter, because it’s a different place than in the summer.”
He takes her there at that time, because that’s when she traveled to the United States. She was here on a visa and was here (as a result) for a limited time. She probably traveled here during a cheaper time of the year to travel from the Philippines.
And so, there would be nothing unusual about taking someone there *at the time* that they happened to be here on a trip.
As far as going to the Oregon Coast during the winter..., well that’s a great time to go to the beach to see the storms come in. Many people do like to see the raging and stormy seas. I like to see it when it’s storming and raging, too.
It’s not the kind of trip that you are on the beach, in your skimpy swimming outfit and sunning yourself and having a nice time in the sand... LOL...
Come to think about it, you never go to the Oregon Coast — at *any time of the year* without bringing your coat and gloves. It doesn’t matter if it’s 105 inland, you can freeze at the Oregon Coast. Those nice and sunny days with really warm weather is rare. More times than not, you’ll be wearing your heavy coat at the coast...
So, no...., if you’re thinking “Galveston” or something like that — you’ve got the wrong idea. If you think — “bring your heavy coat and be prepared for cold winds and wearing gloves” — then you’ve got the right idea...
But, that’s exactly the kind of Oregon Coast visitor that you’re going to get in the winter and they do have them there, too.
You said — “The only plausible excuse I can think of is that he is REALLY socially stunted.”
You might make a good argument for that, being that he’s getting a bride from the Philippines. Usually, those sorts go several thousand miles to get a woman from the Philippines because “American women” are just too much for them... LOL...
Huh.. I guess this jacket was a pullover?
You said — “It is the very peril of such conditions on the Oregon coast that makes me wonder about the whole “proposal in December on a stormy day on the coast” story.”
What can I say..., people in Oregon like to go to the coast in the winter, with their coats on, and ski down the mountain in the summer with no coat..., and walk in the rain without raincoats...
Ask an Oregonian if that ain’t true... LOL..
I have never been to Galveston, but I have been to the Oregon coast more than once, and the California and Washington coasts more times than I can count. I am not sure why you are obsessed with this guy's innocence. I don't know if he did anything, but he is acting funny. Just because we all know accidents happen at the coast doesn't mean that sometimes it *might* not be an accident.
When we were at the Grand Canyon last summer, we witnessed a man fall to his death (an accident.) This happens multiple times a year. However, every once in awhile, a "Grand Canyon Divorce" happens, and it's not quite an accident...
You said — “Huh.. I guess this jacket was a pullover?”
Given the 20-foot seas, the fact that the Oregon Coast Guard had to call it quits in only fifteen minutes of searching, along with the wind and the fog — that would have been a heavy winter coat...
You’re really talking about harsh conditions...
You said — “I am not sure why you are obsessed with this guy’s innocence.”
I’m not really obsessed with his innocence as much as I’m obsessed with how *so typical* it is — so to be so very ordinary (if someone dying is ordinary...).
This fits in so well with how things go on the Oregon Coast that it’s “ho-hum” ordinary...
I went to the Oregon coast one time and there were warning signs about sneaker waves all over the place. Growing up in Florida, I'd never heard of such a thing.
It’s true that I have never been in a situation like that, although I am familiar with Pacific coast conditions. But the woman was not 30 feet away when the wave hit. The article implies she was right next to him. Why couldn’t he have scooped her up and then “turned into the wave?” I admit I don’t know what that means—a surfing technique? But I gather from his knowledge of the tactic, that he was not a stranger to the wiles of the Oregon surf. In that case, why was he there in the first place, risking his life and that of his beloved? Rogue waves kill people all the time in Northern California. I still think there’s more to this story than what he says. The man on the beach who called 911 was probably hailed by the man after it happened. But apparently there were no witnesses, since the article says that the police were searching for witnesses.
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