Fishing gear has been found near where a woman was reportedly swept from the rocks into rough surf at a Gold Coast beach.
Police say they were called to the scene near Elephant Rock just before 9:30pm on Tuesday after an unknown man told others in the area he had seen a woman swept into the surf while she was fishing from the rocks.
Acting Superintendent Scott Knowles said that man was not the person who called police and he was not at the scene when police arrived.
"We deployed resources to start that search for the female, [but] we don't have any name, any description or anything regarding this person," Acting Superintendent Knowles said.
"Investigations did find some fishing equipment on the rocks so we're concerned a female has been washed into the rough surf conditions."
Wind speeds of nearly 60 kilometres per hour were recorded at the Gold Coast seaway overnight and more than 15 millimetres of rain fell in the area between 9.00pm and 9.00am.
'Rough description' of mystery man
The search for the woman was called off due to rough conditions overnight, but resumed this morning.
"We've got police out along the beaches at the moment, we're deploying the helicopter in between weather events that we've faced here with the rain and the wind," Acting Superintendent Knowles said.
"As soon as we're able to we'll deploy some water assets as well in an attempt to locate this female, if she is actually out there."
Acting Superintendent Knowles said police were desperate to speak to the man who told others he had seen the woman washed from the rocks.
He said the people who called emergency services could not tell police a great deal about the man.
"He appeared to have been in the surf, indicating he may have actually been searching for this woman," he said.
"They've given us a rough description, but the engagement between the witnesses and this male was very limited.
"One of the lines of enquiry we're looking at is to try and confirm if this woman has been swept from the rocks, and our concerns are that she may have been, given the fishing equipment that we've located."
