Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
A mother has died and her teenage daughter remains missing after a “tragic incident” on the East Yorkshire coast, police said.
Sarah Keeling, 45, and her daughter Grace Keeling, 15, were trapped ocean Humberside Police said on Friday.
Police added that the bodies of Ms Keeling and Mark Ratcliffe, 67, who tried to rescue them, were recovered after the incident in Withernsea, but the search for Grace continued.
They said in a statement on Sunday: “Following reports about the safety of people in the water at Withernsea, and with the permission of the family, Humberside Police can now confirm that mother and daughter Sarah Keeling, 45, and Grace Keeling, 15, were involved in the tragic incident, as well as Mark Ratcliffe, 67, a member of the public who died while assisting in the rescue.”
They added that the families of Sarah and Grace Keeling were being supported by specially trained officers.
Humberside Police previously said officers were called to the incident on Withernsea Central Promenade at 3.15pm on Friday.
Ratcliffe’s family paid tribute to him on Sunday, describing him as “a truly selfless hero with a heart of gold who was brutally treated to save others.”
Police added: “Residents will continue to see an increased police presence in and around the area as officers continue to search for the remaining missing person.”
Witnesses to the incident previously told The Telegraph they saw a teenage girl “washed away” by the waves.
Karen Higgs, 66, told the newspaper: “I was next to the cafe and this woman was running towards the dock tower shouting ‘she’s in the water, she’s in the water’.”
“I looked over and then I went over and there were people in the water … moving in and out with the waves.
“Someone threw a safety ring for her to catch. When the safety ring went in, she was going out…but she never tried to catch it. We were all yelling at her to catch it, catch it. She just didn’t.”
On Friday, local charity Hornsea Inshore Rescue said on Facebook that they had been called to Withernsea but “were unable to launch the lifeboat due to poor conditions and three-metre waves”.
The team later posted that it was “live.”