By Meghan Riding

meghan@newsroom.byu.edu

A BYU student is missing after a wave swept him off a jetty on the Oregon coast Oct. 28.

McKell Brockbank, 24, a sophomore from Ann Arbor, Mich., who has not declared a major, was observing high surf at the Siuslaw River bar when the wave washed him and his cousin John Woodard, 23, a senior from Melissa, Tex., majoring in philosophy, off the jetty, according to a Coast Guard news release.

Woodard swam ashore and the Coast Guard conducted an extensive search for Brockbank, said Coast Guard Group Duty Officer Robert Hoff.

The search was suspended at 6:22 p.m. due to bad weather, four hours after the wave hit, Hoff said.

Ahnalia Newbury, 23, of Eugene, Ore., whom Brockbank and Woodard were visiting, said Brockbank wanted to go to the coast Saturday.

Newbury said she watched from nearby sand dunes as the two stood on the jetty for 20 minutes while the waves increased in size.

"I turned away for a second and a wave took them both and then only one came back up," Newbury said.

Woodard was released Sunday, Oct 29, from Western Lane Hospital in Florence, Ore., after being treated for a slight concussion and scratches, Newbury said.



Copyright Brigham Young University 30 Oct 2000