Gold Beach (KMTR)On Friday, December 30, 2011 Curry County Sheriff’s Office 911 received a no-voice 911 call from a cell phone. The call source was traced to the area of Hwy. 101 at the Hunter Creek Bridge in Gold Beach. As a Gold Beach Police officer was responding, the citizen who was attempting to call 911, flagged over a passing Curry County Sheriff’s Office patrol vehicle and informed the officer that they had just observed a male subject get swept out to sea.
The citizen witness stated that they had observed what they believed to be a male adult run into the surf possibly in the rescue of a dog. The person was wearing a heavy coat and possibly had on boots. The subject waded out into the surf, lost his footing, and then was quickly pulled out into the heavy, pounding surf. The witness observed the subject being pulled by the current out to sea in a northwesterly direction and saw the subject bob up and down in the water a couple times before going underwater and not re-surfacing.
Curry County Sheriff’s Office Command, Patrol, and Search and Rescue, along with additional Gold Beach Police units, responded to the area and began searching for the possible victim. The United States Coast Guard was contacted and responded to the scene with a helicopter from the North Bend Air Station and a motor lifeboat from Brookings, Oregon.
The Gold Beach Police Department has now identified a possible victim associated to this incident. Next of kin has been notified and the search continues today for the missing subject.
Curry County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue personnel are conducting a search of the beaches near Gold Beach, Oregon and a helicopter, from the United States Coast Guard North Bend, Oregon Air Station is currently on scene.
The possible victim in this incident has been identified as:
Anton, Kevin Cornell, (goes by the name of K.C. Anton)
Age 48
Resides in Veneta, Oregon
