YORK, Maine -- Rescue workers in boats and on land searched without success Monday for a man and two children who were swept out to sea in two separate incidents by waves up to 15 feet high, authorities said.
A pair deck shoes and a denim jacket belonging to the man and his daughter was found floating about 1 mile off the coast, but none of the bodies was found by the time the search was suspended in the late afternoon, police said.
Authorities said the search for the father and daughter, who were swept off a rocky ledge while taking pictures in York Sunday, would be called off at sunset Tuesday if no trace of the victims had been found by then.
There was no word on how long the search would continue for an 11-year-old boy, who was also washed away in the surf Sunday in neighboring Ogunquit.
The Coast Guard reported calmer seas of 3 to 4 feet as about six small search boats criss-crossed the waters off the two coastal towns Monday.
In York, police said Terry Hundley, 41, the town administrator of Durham, N.H., was photographing his daughter, Marisol, 11, when they were caught by waves as they stood on rocks near the Cliff House Motel late Sunday morning. Hundley was swept under after he tried to rescue his daughter, police said.
'When he saw she was about to be swept away by a big wave, witnesses said he ran and tried to grab her, but they were both swept over the edge. It's about 30 feet down there. They didn't have much of a chance,' said York Police Sgt. Gary Finley.
Witnesses told police they tried to throw a life buoy to the pair, but said they were swept under almost immediately by the waves, which reached 15 feet in the area.
About one hour earlier in neighboring Ogunquit, a southern coastal resort community, William Mohler, of Glens Falls, N.Y., was playing with friends on rocks when he was washed away by pounding waves, said Fire Department dispatcher Tracie Moore.
'Before he knew it, it was too late,' Moore said. 'A wave came up and took him.'
Finley said the brown boat shoes and a camera case with a lens inside, belonging to the father, and the girl's blue denim jacket were identified by family members.
About 20 volunteers from Durham joined the York search Monday.
Finley said members of the state Marine Patrol would resume searching off shore Tuesday for the Hundleys, while police, firefighters and rescue workers comb the rocky shore, weather permitting. But he said the operation would be suspended after Tuesday because 'the chances of finding them are very slim.'
A police spokesman in Ogunquit said no decision had been made on how long to continue the search for the Mohler boy.
Finley said the Hundleys, who were visiting the York area with family members, probably underestimated the fearsome ocean conditions. He said waves of up to 15 feet high lashed the shore.
'Those people were (originally) from Colorado and probably didn't understand the power of the sea,' Finley said. 'They were thrown in and swept out to the ocean. I don't think there is any hope that they are alive.'
Hundley moved to New Hampshire in April from Louisville, Colo., to take the top administrative position in Durham, a college town, said Joseph P. O'Dell, Durham business manager.
