Search continues for woman swept out to sea

LIHUE — The search continues for a woman swept away by a wave Wednesday at Queen’s Bath.

A county news release Thursday afternoon identified the woman as Yayun Cheng, 23, of California, and said the search would resume this morning.

Cheng — on vacation from Los Angeles with her boyfriend and two other friends — reportedly hiked down a dirt trail, past a gate with signs warning of dangerous surf, to the rocky outcropping sometime on Wednesday morning, according to U.S. Coast Guard officials.

The Kauai Fire Department received an emergency call at 11:55 a.m. about a woman carried out to sea by a wave. The ensuing search went on until sunset and involved Jet Skis, helicopters and boats from the KFD and U.S. Coast Guard.