Ocean rescue saves screaming man off Santa Barbara

Investigators are trying to find out more about how a man was stranded and screaming in the cold, dark waters off Santa Barbara Friday.

The man was not identified.

He was rushed to Santa Barbara’s Cottage Hospital with health issues related to hypothermia.

Some citizens were the first to hear yelling about 7 p.m. from the ocean where the man was stranded and unable to get to shore. There are no lights in the area, except from Shoreline Park above the cliffs.

Using paddleboards some civilians were able to get to the man and bring him to shore as emergency crews arrived.

The Harbor Patrol dispatched a boat and onshore, a rescue crew in a truck. The Santa Barbara Police Department had several units up in the park with officers looking down. The Santa Barbara Fire Department had engines and crews at the park and by the Shoreline Cafe. Some of the firefighters were in ocean rescue gear with boards.

Red emergency lights lined the area from the parking lot to the top of the park in different areas for the searchers.

Harbor Patrol Officer Monica Broumand said at one point it was unclear exactly where the man was either in the water, on the cliffs, or on the beach.

The citizens who assisted in the rescue were thanked by the departments for their heroic efforts to save the man.