Search for surfer at Rodeo Beach becomes ‘recovery’ mission

Search crews in Marin County returned to Rodeo Beach Thursday morning to look for the body of a missing 40-year-old surfer, who was hit and knocked out Wednesday by a large wave, officials said.

Dan Dafoe, a San Rafael resident, was knocked unconscious while he surfed Wednesday just after 5 p.m. People who were surfing with Dafoe saw him in the water face down and tried to bring him to shore when they were hit by a large wave, too, and lost track of Dafoe, the National Park Service said in a statement Thursday.

“He was last seen in the water at the north end of the beach in surf estimated at 8 to 10 feet high with 15-second intervals,” National Park officials said in a statement Thursday.