Diver describes recovery of Calgary girl from ocean as investigators release identity

The diver who found the body of a Calgary girl swept into the sea by a massive wave in California says while her death is one family’s grief, the pain is shared by all.

“When I grabbed her with my arms, the first thing that came to my mind was my daughter when she was her age, when I carried her to her bedroom when she fell asleep,” Juan Heredia said in a phone interview Tuesday.

“That muscle memory came back.”

Heredia, 52, says the seven-year-old — identified by the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office as Anzi Hu — is the 14th drowning victim he has found through his non-profit Angels Recovery Dive Team. 

The office reports a six-metre wave at Garrapata State Beach swept Anzi into the Pacific Ocean on Friday. Her father, identified as 39-year-old Yuji Hu, jumped in to save her, but was later pulled from the water by a passerby and first responder. He died in hospital. 

Anzi’s mother was treated for mild hypothermia after she returned to the shoreline on her own. Anzi’s two-year-old sibling was unharmed.

“The family continues to request privacy as they continue to grieve this tragic loss and has expressed their gratitude to all agencies and community members involved in the search and recovery efforts,” the sheriff’s office said in a Monday statement.

Heredia, a professional diver from Argentina, said he would like to see a photo of Anzi smiling. 

“I need to see her photo because it’ll help me erase the last image of her,” he said. “This case was (a) big one for me.”

He heard about Anzi’s drowning on the news Saturday night and decided to help. 

“I told my wife that I think I can find her,” he said.

He drove three hours the next day from his home in California’s Central Valley to Garrapata State Beach, south of San Francisco, with two beachfronts and a 15-metre cliff that overlooks the Monterey coast. He got there by 9 a.m. 

He said he told the sheriff leading the search that he wanted to dive for the girl once he got there, but he refused his help. “He said, ‘No, it’s too dangerous. She will show up somewhere,'” Heredia said.

When the clock struck noon and the low tides arrived, Heredia said he put on his diving gear and began walking toward the ocean anyway. It was his first time doing a search in the ocean.

He said he saw the waves moving north so he walked in that direction, away from the rescue efforts in the south.

Within 30 minutes, he said he saw the girl caught between rocks. He said he dove into the water immediately, carried her to shore and waved for a lifeguard.

“They were very thankful,” he said about the sheriff.

Heredia said he then got back into his car and drove back to his family. He said he understands that his job is difficult, but he has good instincts and wants to help families find their loved ones. 

“I don’t search for a body,” he said. “I recover a son or a daughter.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2025.