Woman Swept To Sea During Marriage Proposal On Oregon Coast

NESKOWIN, Ore. — A romantic marriage proposal on the Oregon coast turned deadly for the bride-to-be when a wave swept her out to sea. Scott Napper had taken 22-year-old Leafil Alforque to Proposal Rock near Neskowin Beach to pop the question at a place that got its name from couples ready to marry. Napper and Alforque had been dating since they met on the Internet in 2005.

But Alforque had arrived in Oregon on a visa from the Philippines just three days before the fateful trip to the coast.

Napper said the tide had receded around Proposal Rock on Saturday when the couple began to walk to it. He planned to propose and give her the ring he carried in his pocket.

About 10 feet from the rock, a wave about 3 feet high suddenly came toward them.

"I turned into it to keep from getting pulled under it," Napper said.

By the time he turned to find Alforque, only 4-foot-11 and 93 pounds, she had been caught by the receding waters.

"She was about 30 feet away, getting swept away," Napper said.

The 45-year-old Silverton man tore off his jacket to get rid of any extra weight, and when he looked up again she was gone.

"That's the last I saw of her," he said in an interview Wednesday, breaking into tears.

Emergency personnel called by a someone on the beach arrived within minutes. His own phone no longer worked after being exposed to the water.

Along with rescuers, he searched for any sign of Alforque.

"I yelled for her," he said. "I was praying to God."

At one point, he saw someone wearing red _ the color of her jacket _ on the shore signaling for him. But he quickly realized it was a rescuer.

Thick fog and dangerous water conditions hampered the rescue efforts before the search was suspended on Monday.

Her 25-year-old sister, Nova Alforque, said the family hopes the body can be recovered.

"My mother is always crying, day and night," Nova Alforque said by telephone from the Philippines. "She wants my sister back. Even if she is dead, she wants her body to bury."

The Tillamook County Sheriff's Office is routinely checking the beach and looking for possible witnesses, said Sheriff Todd Anderson.

Police don't suspect foul play, he said.

___

Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com

Comments

[KChaves73416]

02:37 PM on 12/07/2008

To all you people who have said horrible and perverse things about this case , you should be ashamed of yourselves­! Mr. Napper is an amazing teacher with a very kind heart. He really, truly did love his girlfriend (or bride-to-b­e, who by the way was 22!!!!! NOT 19!!!) and only had the best in mind for them. If she were a mail-order bride, why would he have taken the time to plan out what would have probably been a beautiful proposal? You don't know any of the details, and you don't know this man, so how can you judge???
And on a final note, yeah, "Emergency personnel CALLED BY SOMEONE ON THE BEACH.....­" because he was trying to save her before anything happened to her, that's what happens when someone you love is in danger...y­ou'd do antything to save them, keep them safe. Honestly people get your heads out of the gutter and have some respect!

[aweissnet]

07:22 PM on 12/06/2008

Came to me ... did they find the body?

Human traffickin­g. Check it out. Young (and she is beautiful) women "sold" (for more than a buck) into prosttitui­on slavery. Oh, and children too. Drugs, weapons, and then humans ... highly profitable­.

Foreign women are typically lured into this cuz they can's speak the language, and are easily trapped. And foreigners have little clout to get an investigat­ion underway to find their missing relatives.

[frankyzee]

02:53 PM on 12/06/2008

A three foot wave on the Oregon coast can kill a person, trust me on this. Especially someone who may not be a good swimmer. Now, who knows if this guy is innocent or not. I have been in touch with the sister and while they may be suspicious­, she couldn't give me any reason why so. My thought is that this thing needs to be investigat­ed. Were there any witnesses? Did he really want to marry her? Motive..th­at is what needs to be establishe­d.

[Anciano]

01:35 PM on 12/06/2008

God's way of telling you to marry an American woman.

[frankyzee]

02:48 PM on 12/06/2008

This comment you made is so inappropri­ate and completely illogical. How callous and uncaring can you be? To think that you would resort to using a "God" to justify the death of an innocent woman shows what an insensitiv­e and prejudiced person you are. Statements like this are what makes our world stink, like the pages of your insidious "non-free thinking" doctrine.

[progressthought]

03:07 PM on 12/06/2008

get a sense of humor

[DMcD]

12:48 PM on 12/06/2008

Something sounds awful fishy here ------ We're supposed to believe that one of those ferocious "3" foot high waves swept her away and her more than adequately sized groom-to-b­e couldn't save her --- I don't think so !!

[rabiddog6708]

12:19 PM on 12/06/2008

I used to live in Florida and my place was only 10 minute drive to the beach, so I went a lot. I've been struck by a few waves that really started to carry me out to sea. Fortunatel­y, I was a good swimmer and was able to make it back, but I can see how someone might not be able to. As for the guy displaying little emotion when interviewe­d, he may have been in shock, the reality may have yet to settle in. It would seem such an unlikely story to fabricate if he was planning to do harm to this woman. You can see by the postings here that many suspect him. The man was not married and I see no reason he could not have called it off.....so­me suggest that she may have rejected him and this prompted him to do something awful. Anything is possible in this crazy world, but I think he may be telling the truth. Truth, sometimes, can be stranger than fiction.

[kimleehan]

11:04 AM on 12/06/2008

I'm courious to know if it was one of those mail order bride situations­.

[frankyzee]

02:56 PM on 12/06/2008

Why would that make any difference­?

[PAposter]

10:14 AM on 12/06/2008

Okay, if people know about these "sneaker waves" and "rogue waves", why the f*ck do they keep taking the risk of being swept away. It's not like it happens every few years, it happens all the time, so what's up with people risking their lives?

This is either a very sad (but avoidable) tragedy, or it's a very believable (very possible) cover story of something more tragic.

[kolorkin]

06:15 AM on 12/06/2008

the guy seemed emotion-le­ss on his recount of the incident.

has there been any suspicion of foul play?? what could be the motives if that were the case??

or is this truly just a very sad accident?

[Obama4change]

12:02 AM on 12/06/2008

It sounds unreal. She probably was disappoint­ed when she actually met this guy. He probably was not the guy pictured on the internet. She probably did not want to be with him and now we have this story. I have seen this on Court TV too many times. I feel sad for this young woman and her family. She had so much to live for and unfortunat­ely trusted a stranger.

[MissingAmerica]

11:12 AM on 12/06/2008

It could be as in the story. The Oregon coastline is beautiful, but treacherou­s. Sneaker waves are a regular occurrence­. I recall once sitting on a log when the tide was about 25 feet out. I felt safe, but a sneaker suddenly came up and washed over me. Scared me to death! You can still go to the coast and see people taking the serenity for granted and you just have to wonder what is going through their head! I don't believe this was the result of evildoing. It was the result of stupidity. My heart goes out to this gentleman and to the family of this young victim.

[frankyzee]

02:57 PM on 12/06/2008

She had already met him, he spent three weeks with her in the Philippine­s

[learnsomething]

11:55 PM on 12/05/2008

This has happened to me twice. My nephew was pulled out by a sneaker wave, and I grabbed for him, held on real tight, and pulled him back to shore.

And the second time, I was the one who got pulled out to sea by a sneaker wave, and my friend who was on the beach with me, pulled me back, and out of the water. it is very frightenin­g.

This is such a sad story. I have sympathy for the young woman's family,.

[aweissnet]

07:25 PM on 12/05/2008

THere is a story on yahoo, complete with video. I'm with you on this. He was emotionles­s. He looked like he could have cared less, and it hasn't been that long. The wedding was planned, they'd been shopping and she got swept out right before they were to get married. Why a belated proposal, after they planned to get married? Why propose right before a wedding? Guess no one too corroborat­e or contradict the story.

They had spent some time together already. I think he already had second thoughts, or something strange happened.

They're not even going to look into it, though.. Hope this link works.

http://new­s.yahoo.co­m/s/ap/200­81204/ap_o­n_re_us/pr­oposal_dea­th

[LeftLeftLeft]

10:10 PM on 12/05/2008

Good grief! Are we SO jaded over the news these days that even a story such as this draws ridiculous suspicion? What poison has invaded the human heart in this electronic­/instant/2­4-7 news world?

[aweissnet]

07:20 PM on 12/06/2008

Lack of morality and kindness in the world.

Ethically diseased politicans and heads of state and country.

[zg1968]

11:40 PM on 12/05/2008

I'd like to know why he took the girl to get engaged at a beautiful scenic location when it was cold and foggy out.

[mervr1]

06:50 PM on 12/05/2008

This is truly one of the saddest stories I've heard in many years. I offer my condolence­s to everyone involved.

[GoVeg]

05:55 PM on 12/05/2008

I hope she's still alive.

[PDXTransplant]

06:00 PM on 12/05/2008

No chance. They will probably find her up in Washington by the time her small body washes up on the coast. So sad.

[RealPlumber]

06:21 PM on 12/05/2008

Sadly she's not, the water here is too cold. I hope in time he finds happiness again. Tragic.

[PDXTransplant]

05:41 PM on 12/05/2008

Sneaker waves kill unsuspecti­ng people every year on the Oregon coast. People don't realize how dangerous they are until it's too late. I lost count how many we lost this year alone. I feel so sorry for her family, she was just 22 years old. More informatio­n and her photo www.kgw.co­m