One minute, people are relaxing at a Bay Area beach. The next, they're in a life-or-death struggle in the water. In recent months, a series of massive, out-of-nowhere waves have crashed over unsuspecting beachgoers again and again, including Arunay Pruthi, 12, who was swept to sea in front of his family. Reporter Nora Mishanec tells the story of the effort to rescue the boy, and to keep these tragedies from happening in the future. | Unlimited Chronicle access: sfchronicle.com/pod

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices