A woman was in critical condition after her family was rescued from their boat that capsized off the Oxnard coast early Wednesday morning.
The boat overturned and a mother, father and their two children into the water around 12:08 a.m. off the shoreline in the 3900 block of Ocean Drive, according to the Ventura County Sheriff's Department.
The family left Ventura Harbor around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday to go lobster fishing before they hit rough surf.
"It looks like they got disoriented at night after a night of hoop netting for lobster, came in too close to shore, got caught by a wave," said Capt. Paul Amaral of the Channel Watch Marine Vessel Assist. "The boat rolled over."
The father helped his 6-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter to shore, but was separated from his wife in the process.
The mother, wearing a life jacket, was found not breathing and was taken to a hospital, where her condition was "not looking very good," said Sgt. Steve Sagely.
The father was found disoriented and suffering from hypothermia. He was taken to a hospital, where he was expected to be OK, authorities said.
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His two children went to a nearby home looking for help and found Ashley Parris, an Oxnard resident, who said she heard a young girl calling for help.
The children were "soaking wet, covered in sand, one of them was still wearing their life jacket," Parris said. "The other little one said he had taken his off."
Parris and her husband called 911, and she comforted the children while their parents were being rescued.
"The little girl was the one who said that there was an emergency that they thought their dad was on the beach and that her mom had drowned," she said. "But other than that. She didn't remember much. She was in her pajamas."
Parris said she believes the two children were asleep when the boat capsized because they do not remember what happened.
