Richard Shaw frantically tried to help as the tragedy unfolded on Friday
A man has emotionally recounted the harrowing moments he saw a mother and her teenage daughter being pulled out to sea before his eyes despite his frantic attempts to rescue them. Richard Shaw, 68, who lost his father in similar circumstances decades ago, heard screams and spotted the young girl struggling amongst towering waves after being dragged out to sea in the tragic incident at Withernsea last Friday.
A woman yelled at him to grab a lifebelt, which he hurled into the water after sprinting down a ramp to the shoreline. Tragically, Grace Keeling, 15, was unable to reach the belt and remains missing.
Mr Shaw then looked on in horror as the woman who had cried out for help – Grace’s mother Sarah Keeling, 45 – was also pulled out to sea by the enormous waves. Moments later, he was struck by two massive waves himself.
Mr Shaw was then hit by a third wave and thrown up the ramp before being pulled to safety by another passer-by. He described how he then slumped against the prom wall and broke down in tears, knowing he “couldn’t do anymore”.
A third person, Mark Ratcliffe, 67, sadly died while attempting to rescue the mother and daughter from the sea.
Mr Shaw said: “I was immensely sad. I knew she’d gone. If she could been magically retrieved from that water she could have probably be saved.
“I knew the mother could not be stopped from attempting to save her and it was just immensely sad knowing that. This is an impossible situation. The sea is in charge here and we are not.”
Mr Shaw had been walking his dog around 3pm near Pier Towers when he first heard shouting. He noticed that the waves were “extremely high” and crashing against the sea wall.
When he peered over the wall between the ramp and Pier Towers, he spotted someone in the “20 feet tall” waves. He said: “I ran to get a life saver belt and at the same time I was shouting and asking for the coastguard.
“I retrieved the life saver belt from the container. It was not easy to throw the life ring.”
Mr Shaw described the seas as “very angry and horrible”. He recalled seeing the girl’s mother stood to his right shouting at the teenager to grab the life belt and she got closer to the bottom of the ramp to try to reach her.
He said: “The mother was near the bottom of the ramp stumbling and falling and I thought I could maybe reach her. There was no way that mother was supposed to leave her daughter in that water no matter how much we tried to get her out.
“I thought I had the chance to reach her now where the water receded I moved in towards the bottom of the ramp and she would have been 20 feet away from me a huge wave just swept me off my feet and I was hit against the wall and smashed my knee.
“The waves just completely enveloped me and when I came from under the water I just looked over my right shoulder and saw that this wave was further out.
“I had a glimpse of this other man trying to help who had been swept by the waves. I then got hit by another wave and a third wave then hit me very heavily and washed me to the right to the bottom of the ramp and I decided there’s nothing I can do here apart from either get out or lose my life.
“Another young lady entered the waves at the same time as me but was able to escape around the same time as me. She was also trying to get to the mother.”
Fighting back tears, Mr Shaw described how he retreated from the scene and began crying out for assistance. A passer-by came to his aid and pulled him clear of the ramp.
He was escorted to the nearby café where he was given a hot drink, and there he encountered another person who had attempted to assist with the rescue.
Mr Shaw said: “We have lived in this town now for ten years and these tides were exceptional. It was the highest tide that we can get at this time and the water was actually coming over the walls. It is horrific.
“I lost my dad in similar circumstances. He died when I was 12 after trying to rescue our dog from a high tide in New Brighton.”
Following the tragedy, a local resident said: “I did not know any of them personally but it is a terrible situation. They did their best in such a horrific situation. My thoughts are with their families.”
In a heartfelt tribute, Mr Ratcliffe’s family described him as “a true selfless hero with a heart of gold, who was so cruelly taken trying to save others”.
They added: “So many lives are now shattered that you’re gone. You were loved by so many people, and we will all miss you forever.
“A loving husband, father, son, brother and the best grandad anybody could ever wish for. Sleep tight, we love you, we miss you.”
The bodies of Sarah Keeling and Mark Ratcliffe were recovered on Friday evening. An increased police presence in and around the area is ongoing as the search continues for Grace.
Chief Inspector Tom Stevens, of Humberside Police, said: “This is a truly tragic incident, and our thoughts remain with the families of Sarah Keeling and Mark Ratcliffe. Both families continue to be supported by specially trained officers and have requested their privacy at this devastating time.
“Our priority now is to find Grace, and we are doing everything we can to locate her. This includes extensive searches along the shoreline and drone searches from Withernsea to Easington directed by our specialist search teams. Our underwater search unit has also been in the area, and we have consulted with an oceanographer to ensure our searches are as efficient as possible.
“Throughout the week, members of the public should expect to see a continued police presence in the area, and we would ask people to avoid the location to allow emergency services to work efficiently and safely.”
The incident on Friday triggered a large-scale search involving a rescue helicopter, air ambulance and RNLI teams from Withernsea, Bridlington and Hornsea Inshore Rescue.
The search was halted around 12.30am on Saturday, and continued at dawn but was called off at 4pm.