Here’s a Sheriff’s Office truck at the Mad River Beach parking lot. | Photo courtesy HCSO.

From the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On March 8, 2018, at about 2:30 p.m., Humboldt County sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to Mad River Beach for the report of a robbery.

The female victim was reportedly walking her dog on the beach south of the Mad River Beach parking lot when she was approached by a man. The man shoved the victim to the ground, took her cell phone and car keys and fled east into the dunes. The victim walked to a nearby residence on Mad River Rd. and called for help. The victim was uninjured during the incident.

Sheriff’s deputies, with the help of the California Highway Patrol, searched the beach and dunes, but were unable to locate the suspect. A citizen walking on the beach found the victim’s stolen items and returned them to law enforcement.

The suspect is described as a possible transient man, with shoulder length gray hair and facial hair.

Anyone visiting Mad River Beach is asked to use caution. If you observe a man fitting this description or other suspicious behavior, report it to the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251.