Mark Ratcliffe, 67, braved horrifying 12ft waves in Withernsea last Friday afternoon after seeing a 15 year old girl cry out for help.
16:00, 04 Jan 2026Updated 18:23, 04 Jan 2026
Sarah Keeling, 45, and 15-year-old Grace Keeling, were involved in this tragic incident(Image: Humberside Police)
A mother and her 15-year-old daughter who were swept out to sea have been named and pictured by police.
Sarah Keeling, 45, and 15-year-old Grace Keeling, were involved in this tragic incident, alongside 67-year-old Mark Ratcliffe, a member of the public who died trying to assist with the rescue.
Police said the bodies of Sarah Keeling and Mark Ratcliffe were recovered on the evening of Friday, 2 January 2026. Searches are still ongoing to locate Grace.
The pensioner who died trying to stop a mother and daughter being swept out to sea was a ‘true selfless hero,’ his family said.
Mark Ratcliffe, 67, braved horrifying 12ft waves in Withernsea last Friday afternoon after seeing a 15 year old girl cry out for help.
Mark Ratcliffe gave his live trying to save others(Image: Humberside Police)
He joined her mum, who had waded into the sea, trying to reach the girl.
It is believed they both came inches away from saving her.
But tragically both were overcome by the terrible conditions and Mr Ratcliffe was pulled out of the water unconscious and pronounced dead at the scene at 10pm, around seven hours after the girl was hit by a wave.
Paying tribute to Mark, his family said: “A true selfless hero with a heart of gold, who was so cruelly taken trying to save others.
Rescue crews at the scene in Withernsea(Image: Hull Live)
“So many lives are now shattered that you’re gone. You were loved by so many people, and we will all miss you forever.
“A loving husband, father, son, brother and the best grandad anybody could ever wish for. Sleep tight, we love you, we miss you.”
The teen’s mum, a 45-year-old woman was also recovered hours later after being spotted in sea defences 100 ft from where she was last seen.
On Saturday searches for the teen were called off but activity was seen on the beach on Sunday afternoon and the beach was sealed off.
The police were asked for an update.
Members of the public who had stopped to watch said they seem to be searching an area near rocks, which are only usually exposed at low tide. Low tide on Sunday was just after noon.
The triple tragedy began after the teen went down some concrete steps ‘wave watching’.
Just 30 seconds earlier she had been at the top of the steps with her mum. But her mum had stepped away with the family dog, which she had on a lead.
After hearing the cries for help she sprinted back to help and chased her daughter as she was carried off down the beach, wading in and coming inches from reaching her from the shoreline.
Tragically conditions were too extreme and the mum and Mr Ratcliffe were both swept away too.
Rescuers also came heartbreakingly close to reaching the girl, with a lifeboat crew diving into the sea despite three metres waves after spotting her.
The men left their little orange rib after spotting the girl but tragically were unable to reach her before she was swept further away in the terrible conditions.
According to CCTV footage seen by a cafe owner opposite, Paul Whitehead, 60, the owner of Castle Cafe on the promenade, told how it had been a ‘tragic accident’.
Talking about the footage, which he has shown police, he said:
“You can see the daughter at the top of the ‘towers’.
Conditions were ‘extremely difficult’, rescue teams said(Image: Hull Live/MEN MEDIA)
“At first she’s watching the waves with her mum. At first they are watching it together at the top of the steps with the waves crashing.
“But then she (the teen) must have felt it was fun to go down the steps, just chasing the waves, like a lot of youngsters do in Withernsea.
“Her mum stepped away as she had the dog with her. The dog was on a lead. It was just for 30 seconds. That’s all it took.
“There were people on the towers who heard the daughter, so the mum comes running back and has to go to the right of the towers as by now her daughter is in the water and had been taken further down the beach.
“About 100 metres away there’s a slipway and she went down the bottom and tried to retrieve her. But like most terrible accidents it can take seconds.”
The cafe owner said the mum and a member of staff were up to their knees in the water, after leaving the beach as she was quite near the shoreline.
But tragically the mum could not reach her child, and she too was swept away.
“The mum’s actions were instinctive. She was inches away from her daughter, I’m told.
“I’m a dad and you would not hesitate. It’s a tragic accident and the mum’s actions afterwards are completely understandable when you see a young girl in distress to want to help regardless of the potential danger. “