On Sunday, an Upper East Side father and daughter were swept up by a huge (some say 20-foot) wave along with other visitors to Acadia National Park in Maine. Clio Dahyun Axilrod, 7, drowned in the water and her body was found a few hours later by the U.S. Coast Guard. Her father Peter Axilrod and a girl from Maine were rescued while four others were able to swim back. Axilrod is in critical condition while his wife has a broken leg after being slammed to the ground by the wave.
Video of USCG rescue after the jump; Coast Guard petty officer Thomas Sands said of the rescued, "With their conditions, they were suffering from hypothermia and shock. They were all banged up from falling over the cliffs and getting dragged over the rocks." Park rangers and locals warned visitors not to get too close—a viewing platform at Thunder Hole had been closed— to the Hurricane Bill-powered waves; one local told the Daily News, "Some people were annoyed, clearly thinking, 'Why is this stranger trying to tell me what to do with my kids?' After it was all over, a woman came to me and said, 'You saved my children's lives.' We hugged and cried." Chief Ranger Stuart West said closing Acadia, an island with multiple entry points, would be near impossible, "People come to the park to see the crashing surf; that's what Acadia is all about. We were all set for fierce weather. We were as prepared as we possibly could be for this."
The Axilrods' neighbors are in shock, telling NY1, "This is a terrible tragedy. This was the only child. She was the light of their lives. She was adored and very special."
