On a September evening in 2016, 25-year-old Sarah Minjee Han, a visitor from Seattle, made a decision to go for a spontaneous, late-night swim in the Pacific Ocean off Long Beach, Washington. She and a friend entered the water near the Sid Snyder beach approach. After about ten minutes in the surf, the two became separated. Her companion, unable to locate her in the waves, returned to their hotel to call for help, a delay that meant responders were not alerted until at least 20 minutes after
she was last seen. Despite an extensive search by the U.S. Coast Guard and local agencies, Sarah Han was not found.
The search for Sarah was intensive but ultimately hampered by the conditions. Rescuers searched for hours into the night until darkness and deteriorating weather forced them to suspend their efforts. The search resumed at sunrise the next day, with a Coast Guard boat crew continuing to comb the area, but there was still no sign of Sarah. The difficult decision to suspend the official search was made later that morning. In the days and weeks that followed, local volunteers, firefighters, and police continued to walk the beaches, holding out hope for her recovery, but their efforts were also unsuccessful. The authorities acknowledged that while they hoped for a recovery, it is not uncommon for victims of drowning to never be found.
While Sarah is presumed to have tragically drowned, her case officially remains that of a missing person as her body has never been recovered. The Pacific County Sheriff's Office investigated the circumstances surrounding her disappearance to ensure a thorough examination of the events. At one point, there was a brief hope of confirming her death when a breast implant was discovered on a beach, and it was known that Sarah had the same model. However, investigators were unable to definitively link the implant to her as it lacked a unique serial number. Her family was devastated by the loss; her mother flew to the United States from Korea, and her father also met with authorities in the aftermath of her disappearance. The case remains open, but without any new leads, active investigation has been exhausted.Last Seen: Sep 7, 2016
