Detailed info about the search and rough conditions:
Large search underway for missing children in fatal Mendocino Coast crash
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/8...or-missing?view=AMP&__twitter_impression=true
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More than 70 people from eight public safety agencies combed the Mendocino County shoreline south of Westport, focusing intently on a 6.5-mile stretch of coastline from Noyo Harbor in the south to MacKerricher State Park in the north. Searchers were looking for any sign of Hannah Hart, 16, Devonte Hart, 16, and Sierra Hart, 12, still missing more than a week after the bodies of their three adoptive siblings and mothers Jen and Sarah Hart were pulled from wreckage at the base of a 100-foot cliff.
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The effort comes in advance of a storm expected to make landfall early Thursday morning, bringing rain, wind and large swells that could hamper searchers’ abilities to spot any clues to the whereabouts of the missing children.
“Rain is coming in Thursday,” Mendocino County sheriff’s Lt. Shannon Barney said Tuesday. “We’re trying to get this done.”
Rough seas have complicated search efforts, with strong currents and chilly temperatures keeping Mendocino County sheriff’s divers out of the water, Barney said.
Waves along the coast Wednesday were cresting at 2 to 3 feet, but swells were expected to grow to 7 feet by Friday and double in height to 14 feet by Saturday, said Matthew Kidwell, a forecaster with the National Weather Service.
“That would cause more problems (for searchers),” he said. “When you have a bigger swell, it can create more currents in and out of little bays. ... When you have big, breaking waves it can be a lot more hazardous right down on the beach.”
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