California dad rescued from ocean to be booked on child endangerment charges

The man will be booked after he is medically cleared from hospital.|
ASSOCIATED PRESS
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) - A California father rescued from the ocean will be booked on charges of child endangerment after authorities say he left his 6-year-old daughter alone in their car in a parking lot for hours.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office says deputies responded to report of the girl crying and looking for her father, 39-year-old German Sotelo, at a beachside parking lot in Carpinteria late Tuesday.

Deputies searching for Sotelo from a helicopter spotted him walking along the beach. When Sotelo saw the helicopter, deputies say he jumped into the ocean and swam away.

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued Sotelo more than an hour later. He'll be booked after he is medically cleared from a hospital.

Deputies say the girl was scared but uninjured and was turned over to her mother.

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.
Send a letter to the editor