Hamzah Raedjameel Alsaudi, 22, a senior at San Francisco State University, disappeared after entering the ocean at Esplanade Beach in Pacifica on January 19, 2023. Around 10:30 a.m. he and two friends took part in what was described as a polar plunge; a large wave struck Alsaudi and pulled him further out to sea. His friends returned to shore and called 911.

An extensive multiagency search followed that day, involving the Pacifica Police Department, the U.S. Coast Guard, California State Parks Ocean Lifeguards and the California Highway Patrol, using aircraft, a surface vessel and drones. Rescue crews searched until about 8:30 p.m., but were unable to locate him. The Pacifica Police Department kept the investigation open.

Alsaudi was a political science major with a minor in Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies and a member of the university wrestling team. He was born in Baghdad, Iraq, moved to the U.S. at age ten, and at the time of the incident was described as 6 feet 1 inch, about 210–215 pounds, with brown hair and green eyes, last seen wearing black shorts or swim trunks. He is presumed to have drowned.

If anyone was on Esplanade Beach that morning or has information about his movements before or after the plunge, please come forward.