Woman swept to sea during marriage proposal

[DainBramaged]

A romantic marriage proposal on the Oregon coast turned deadly for the bride-to-be when a wave swept her out to sea.
Scott Napper planned to pop the question to Leafil Alforque, 22, at a spot near Neskowin Beach that got its name from couples ready to marry.

Napper said the tide had receded around Proposal Rock on Saturday when the couple began to walk to it. He planned to propose and give her the ring he carried in his pocket.

About 10 feet from the rock, a wave around 3 feet high suddenly came toward them.

"I turned into it to keep from getting pulled under it," Napper said.

By the time he turned to find Alforque, only 4-foot-11 and 93 pounds, she had been caught by the receding waters.

"She was about 30 feet away, getting swept away," Napper said.

The 45-year-old Silverton man tore off his jacket to get rid of any extra weight, and when he looked up again she was gone.




http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-12-05-ore-proposal_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip


I just don't know how to react to this. First I think, Plexaco Burris stupid, then I think, ahhh romance. I am perplexed, and feel sorry for all involved.

[malta blue]

1. That is so sad.

:(

The ocean is very unforgiving.

I was once pulled out to sea - I was pregnant and trying desperately to get to shore. My BIL saw me fighting the waves and I don't know how he did it, but he managed to grab me and get me out. I was very embarrassed, as my swimsuit had slid down leaving my chest exposed. My chest was scraped and bloodied from the sand, but I was okay. Very scary....

[pitohui]

2. i saw that, very sad story

poor little thing, probably had such hope for a better life, and he probably wanted to prove to her that he was really sweet and romantic, not just a sweaty older creep who could buy a bride

and then this happens

[Shakespeare]

3. So, so sad. In her honor, the lyrics to "The Lighthouse's Tale"

:cry: :cry: :cry:

I am a lighthouse worn by the weather and the waves
I keep my lamp lit to warn the sailors on their way
I'll tell a story, paint you a picture from my past
I was so happy but joy in this life seldom lasts

I had a keeper, he helped me warn the ships at sea
We had grown closer 'til his joy meant everything to me
And he was to marry a girl who shown with beauty and light
They loved each other, and with me watched the sunsets into nights

And the waves crashing around me
The sand slips out to sea
And the winds that blow remind me
Of what has been and what can never be

She'd had to leave us; my keeper, he prayed for a safe return
But when the night came, the weather to a raging storm had turned
He watched her ship fight, but in vain against the wild and terrible wind
And me so helpless, as dashed against the rocks she met her end

And the waves crashing around me
The sand slips out to sea
And the winds that blow remind me
Of what has been and what can never be

Then on the next day, my keeper found her washed up on the shore
He kissed her cold face, and that they'd be together soon he swore
I saw him crying, watched as he buried her in the sand
Then he climbed my tower, and off the edge of me he ran

And the waves crashing around me
The sand slips out to sea
And the winds that blow remind me
Of what has been and what can never be

I am a lighthouse worn by the weather and the waves
And though I'm empty I still warn the sailors on their way

[skygazer]

4. I do have to wonder why his reaction wasn't to grab her when he saw the wave

I mean, she was tiny and he says he turned into it to keep from getting pulled under so he recognized that it was a possibility.

I realize things happen fast and you can't know what you'd do in a situation until you're in it but it does seem odd to me.

Sad story and I'm going to hell for thinking it, but darkly amusing.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

6. Sometimes people are paralyzed when they see a thing like that...

They're so shocked that they cannot move...

The deer in the headlights thing, I suspect.

[Shine]

8. You're not the only one who thought that

:hi:

xo!

[DainBramaged]

11. I thought that too, absolutely. I would have wanted her pulled tight to me.

Especially on the edge of Winter on the Pacific Ocean.

[pitohui]

12. he was 45, not used to having a woman to grab

and then she was gone and it was too late

not darkly amusing to me, just sad as shit

[midnight armadillo]

13. while playing in the waves once...

I had bodysurfed a wave onto the beach (Marconi Beach on Cape Cod). I turned around, just in time to see a really big wave bearing down on me. There was no time to react, so I just went with the flow, got somersaulted backwards, and dumped further up the beach. The ocean and waves can sneak up on you.

[Danger Mouse]

5. Back to the water...we'll all go back to the water someday...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wdt5QwssWY4

[JVS]

7. Proposal fail

[Shine]

9. I guess it wasn't meant to be.

:( sad, but true.

[eyepaddle]

10. Damn, that is a terribly sad story.

Having screwed up on three separate occasions trying to run waterfalls and then gotten wored soundly for my failure, I can attest that the moent you realize you might drown is one of the worst tnigs you can confront.

The first two of my beatdowns ended pretty tamely--once I swam out I got flushed away from the falls. The third time though, well I got stuck in the hole--until I got dragged into the undercut. I thought I might die, and picturing how devastated my mom would be upon hearing that news galvanized my for one more surge.

I still love the water, but it will kill you in a flash if you fail to give it the respect it demands; and I think it is the sheer unfeeling remorseless of it all that is so terrifying.

[pokerfan]

14. Tragic

There are better places in Oregon to propose marriage. IMO.

[Hanse]

15. I wonder about foul play.

Middle aged guy, kinda weird. Young woman from the Philippines whom he met online and flew over to get married. No witnesses.

[regnaD kciN]

18. The police have already ruled it out...

[Orrex]

20. Why would he import a woman just to kill her?

And there were apparently others nearby, if he was able to borrow someone's phone.

[1]

16. i guess god was pretty much telling scott that she was not the one...

so sad, alforque...

[taterguy]

21. Maybe God was telling her she should have been a better swimmer

[petronius]

17. Really sad: The coast here can be extremely unforgiving - the waves are powerful

even if small and the rocks are not easy to climb. People drown on a regular basis, when they turn their backs or look away from the surf.

That said, I find it odd that he had to look down to "tear off his jacket," when his fiancee was drowning in front of him... :shrug:

[NewJeffCT]

19. That's a sad story

He's going to be haunted by "what if" for the rest of his life now.

[astral]

22. Sometimes those sneaker waves get people, but

people who live on the Oregon coast KNOW about them and try to avoid being in harm's way. Kinda like walking on railroad tracks.

[undeterred]

23. It sounds like a good place to go to break up with someone.

:hide: