Posted on 03/31/2014 9:59:29 AM PDT by JoeProBono
The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away.
A California man was feared dead after he was swept out to sea during a beach baptism on Sunday, officials said.
Benito Flores, 43, was helping his cousin — Pastor Maurigro Cervantes — perform the religious ceremony on a man at Guadalupe beach when a hellacious wave toppled the trio, KCOY-TV reported.
“A big wave came and took Benito,” Cervantes, of Jesus Christ Light of the Sky, told the news station.
“I tried to take him out. He was heavy and then another big wave came.” The current pulled Flores away from the shore at the Rancho Guadalupe Dunes Preserve — about 70 miles north of Santa Barbara — and hasn’t been seen since.
Rescue crews were expected to return to the scene on Monday to search for the missing man.
Cervantes told the Santa Maria Times that about 25 people were at the ceremony, which he said he performs about two or three times a year.
Hecky Durn
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