Stranded kite surfer's "HELP" message on beach leads to rescue

Estimated read time: Less than a minute

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

(CNN) — A kite surfer stranded on the Santa Cruz County coastline used a bit of ingenuity to help get himself rescued, authorities said. Cal Fire said in a social media post Sunday the kite surfer became stranded on a beach south of Davenport Landing. He used rocks on the beach to spell out the word "HELP" and was eventually spotted by a private helicopter pilot who did indeed call for help. Crews from Cal Fire, Santa Cruz County Fire Department, and California State Parks worked together to rescue the kite surfer, using a rescue helicopter to extract him off the beach. He was not injured but just needed assistance getting off the beach surrounded by steep cliffs, Cal Fire said. It was not clear how long the kite surfer had been stranded.