(SFGate.com) By Ellen Huet
Emergency crews have called off a search for a 16-year-old Eureka boy who went missing in the ocean after his parents drowned Saturday trying to save their dog in 10-foot waves, officials said.
The boy, Gregory Kuljian, and his parents took their dog to Big Lagoon state beach north of Eureka with the boy's 18-year-old sister Saturday, said Dana Jones, district superintendent for the state parks department.
Around 12:50 p.m., the family was throwing a stick for the dog to fetch in the water when the dog disappeared in the surf, Jones said.
The teen went into the water to rescue the dog, and when he was caught by a wave and disappeared, the father, 50-year-old Howard Kuljian, went into the water and the mother, 54-year-old Mary Scott, followed. Their 18-year-old daughter called 911, Jones said.
When a state park ranger arrived on the scene, he had to park a half mile away and travel on foot because of the steep terrain around the beach, Jones said. The ranger saw the mother and pulled her out of the water, and he and a bystander began cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The ranger then pulled out the father. Both parents were pronounced dead at the scene. The dog survived and the teen remains missing.
The San Francisco Chronicle has more on this story click here.
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