Monterey County Sheriff's Office Facebook
NEED TO KNOW
A 35-year-old man remains missing after he was swept into the ocean at a California beach on Nov. 22
He has been identified by authorities as U.S. Army Spc. Amanpreet Thind of New Jersey
Just eight days before he disappeared, a father and his young daughter died after they were pulled into the water at the same beach
A missing man identified as a U.S. Army soldier wasswept awayat the same California beach where a father and his 7-year-old daughter were pulled from over a week earlier, authorities said.
On Monday, Nov. 24, officials revealed that the missing man is Amanpreet Thind, a U.S. Army Specialist from New Jersey, who first disappeared three days prior at Garrapata State Park in Monterey County. Thind is a student at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, the Monterey County Sheriff's Office said in anews release.
"As search and recovery operations continue, we hold out hope that Spc. Thind will be found," Col. Christy L. Whitfield, commandant at the institute, said in a statement.
"We offer our deepest condolences to the Thind family during this difficult time," Whitfield continued. "We are providing those impacted with every resource and support service available and extend our heartfelt gratitude to local, state, and national first responders working tirelessly to locate Spc. Thind."
The Monterey County Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for further comment.
On Nov. 22, around 3 p.m. local time,authorities saidthey received reports that a man, later identified as Thind, and two women "had been swept from the rocks into the ocean" at Soberanes Point. The unidentified women who were caught in the surf were able to "self-rescue," and have since been released from the hospital with minor injuries, officials said. But Thind still hasn't been found.
After he was pulled into the Pacific Ocean, a multi-agency search involving helicopters and vessels was launched. By 4:24 p.m. local time, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter found what appeared to be a body in the water, but the "dangerous surf conditions" resulted in lost visual contact.
Search and rescue teams were not able to relocate the missing man, who was wearing a white turban and a black shirt, shorts and vest. Teams searched for Thing until 7:00 p.m. that evening, but had to stop because of the dark and bad conditions, authorities said.
The search began again on Sunday, Nov. 23, but strong winds and hazardous conditions impacted the operation, including divers looking for Thind under the water. Teams were out again on Monday morning, but by the afternoon, the water conditions were too dangerous to enter, the sheriff's office said.
"Conditions appear favorable for Wednesday, and a water search may begin depending on those conditions," authorities continued on Monday. Local officials urge the public not to enter the Soberanes Point area as the search is ongoing. A beach hazard warning remained in effect until late that night, and authorities said that rip currents and sneaker waves with breaks of 13 to 18 feet were possible.
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Monterey County Sheriff's Office Facebook
The extreme conditions proved deadly just over a week ago, when a7-year-old girl and her dad were swept into the oceanby 15-to-20-foot waves at Garrapata State Park. They both died, authorities said.
"The public is asked to stay off rocks and back from the water's edge,"the sheriff's office wrote. "Ocean waves are unpredictable and pose a safety hazard to the public."
Read the original article onPeople