This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Surnames: Carlier, Davis Classification: Obituary Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/UW.2ADE/1795.1 Message Board Post: Redwood Journal Ukiah, Mendocino Co., CA Monday, May 26, 1952 Surf Claims 2 in Drowning At Westport, Needle Rock Recover One Body Waves Sweep Victims Into Sea Saturday Mendocino coastal waters claimed the lives Saturday of Jack Carlier, 38, Willits Forestry Service driver, at Westport, and James L. Davis of Thorn, at Needle Rock. Carlier and son Richard, 11, Sam Maynor and son Sam, 12, and Douglas Ehert, all of Laytonville were fishing off the rocks when tragedy struck. An oversized wave swept the Carliers, father and son off the rocks into about 12 feet of water. The boy managed to climb out, but his father was carried out 30 or 40 feet from shore. Attempting rescue, Sam Maynor, Sr., cast his fishline to Carlier, who caught the line. The drowning man pulled too hard on the line, which broke, leaving the tip weight in his hand. Maynor cast again, but the now unweighted line failed to reach Carlier. He told the drowning man to tread water. Another adult member of the party, Douglas Ebert ran to Westport for a rope. Fred Haas and several other Westport residents heard the shouting and rushed to the scene. Haas lowered his boat by windlass from the top of a nearby rock. As the boat hit the water, Carlier suddenly sank from sight, leaving his hat floating on the ocean surface. He had been treading water about 10 minutes. A group searched the area but found no trace of him. Mendocino County Deputy Coroner Ward Reis, who was called to the drowning, said there was little hope that the body would be found. Westport has no beach and the shoreline is rugged and rocky. Carlier's widow has been notified. The family lived on the Maynor ranch at Laytonville. Sam Maynor was hospitalized for shock following the drowning. The Carlier party arrived at the coast Friday and camped at Juan Creek. Early yesterday they went abalone and line fishing from the rocks, shortly before the accident. Second Drowning A second drowning occurred when James L. Davis, Bradford Radcliff and Christine Harper were returning from surf fishing at Needle Rock vicinity and a wave washed Davis to his death. Attempting to rescue him, Christine Harper caught her foot in a crevice and Radcliff injured his leg. They both saw Davis go down for the last time. His body, which was washed ashore by a later wave and recovered, is in L. P. Ankers Mortuary, Willits. Davis, a veteran, was the son of J. S. Davis of San Pablo.