Couple watching sunset on SF cliff stranded after tide comes in

A couple became stranded at Battery Cranston in the Presidio on Wednesday evening after the high tide came in, cutting off the pair’s exit route, according to the San Francisco Fire Department.

SFFD Capt. Mariano Elias told SFGATE that the pair had partially walked up the cliff from the beach to watch the sun set.

“It got dark, the tide came in, so they were not able to exit through the beach how they came in,” Elias said, “so they were basically trapped.”

The pair were able to call 911 for help at about 9:21 p.m. and used an app called What3words, which is designed to break down every location on Earth into three-word coordinates. Elias said the app helped rescuers locate the couple’s general position quickly. But after rescuers arrived at the area, it still took time for them to find the pair on the cliff face.

“They saw our lights when they were on the phone. Interestingly enough, their cellphone only had 4% power,” Elias said. “That kind of worried me when I heard that.”

But after seeing the rescuers’ lights, the stranded couple were able to yell for help, alerting SFFD to their exact location. A specialized SFFD team was able to use ropes to get down to the couple and pull them to safety about an hour after their 911 call came in.

In a social media post, the San Francisco Fire Department showed the pair on the side of the cliff with the Golden Gate Bridge visible in the background. Elias said the cliff wasn’t a “straight down” and instead had a gradual decline, but it was still impossible for the pair to navigate at night.

Elias advised San Francisco residents and visitors to always be aware of their surroundings, especially near the beach or cliffs.

“We want people to go out and visit our city, but we want people to be careful and stay on trails,” he said.

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