Beach Where 2 Kids From Bellingham Died Known To Be Perilous

The beach in Mexico where a Bellingham brother and sister were swept to their deaths is extremely dangerous and has claimed other lives, says a Red Cross official in Cabo San Lucas where the children perished.

Local residents refer to the area as "divorce beach," because the rough conditions separate people from their loved ones, said Marco Polo Mendoza, a Red Cross official who helped to search for one of the children.

Killed Sunday were Trevor Shagren, 7, and his sister, Lauren, 9, whose body was recovered the following day.

The beach, which is at the tip of the Baja Peninsula and on the Pacific Ocean side, has claimed the lives of as many as four people since last year.

Waves routinely reach 13 feet and parts of the beach are very rocky, making swimming extremely hazardous, Mendoza said. People are warned by waterfront-hotel staffers not to swim there.

Mendoza was unsure if the two children were in the water or walking on the beach when they were swept away. They somehow were hit by a large wave or waves and apparently thrown against the rocks, he said.

The children's father, Richard Shagren, was nearby but was unable to reach or help them, Mendoza said. The boy's body was recovered within a short time, Mendoza said. The father was so overcome he was unable to tell authorities immediately that his daughter was also missing.

Eight people from the Red Cross, including Mendoza, divers and Navy personnel spent the remainder of Sunday looking for the girl after it was learned that she was missing, Mendoza said.

She was found in the water the following day when the ocean was calmer, Mendoza said. "We think the boy and the girl died at the same moment," he said.

The parents of the children hired a private airplane to return the bodies to the United States, Mendoza said.

Members of the Shagren family could not be reached for comment.