A search for a woman buried by sand near Fort Funston at Golden Gate NRA so far has been fruitless/NPS file

Efforts to find a young woman buried by sand and soil at Golden Gate National Recreation Area in California so far have been fruitless, as rescue crews have been hampered by stormy weather.

Two women, thought to be in their 20s, were walking a dog near Fort Funston on Friday when a bluff partially collapsed and buried them. More than 60 rescuers immediately responded, and one woman was pulled from the slide and taken to a nearby hospital with minor injuries. The dog also was rescued.

However, the second woman's body has not been found. Park staff say a high tide early Saturday morning "scoured much of the base of the bluff and modified the beach and search area where the woman was last seen." 

"The interagency rescovery team has determined that the woman's body is either still buried at the base of the bluff, or was carried out to the ocean on the early morning high tide (Saturday)," a park release said.

Thought was given to using ground penetrating radar on Monday in a bid to locate her body, but officials concluded that "it would have to be operated by a specialist in the unstable search area and false positives would be created due to pre-existing concrete and metal debris."

"From third-hand reports, this appears to be an unfortunate and isolated natural incident," Golden Gate spokesman Charlie Strickfaden said Monday. "Ocean waves, soft sand and soil, and recent storm events contribute to erosion of beaches and coastal bluffs. Beach and coastal bluff areas throughout the bay area are popular attractions.”

Recovery operations would continue as conditions allow.