Swimmer hospitalized after she was rescued a mile off shore in Laguna Beach

A 36-year-old woman was hospitalized after she was found about a mile off the shore in front of Shaws Cove near Laguna Beach, authorities said.

Laguna Beach lifeguards, police and firefighters responded to Main Beach about 10:50 p.m. on a report of a missing swimmer, Capt. Kai Bond of the Laguna Beach Marine Safety Department said.

The woman reportedly entered the water and began swimming, Bond said. Authorities searched the area in the water for more than an hour, but were unable to locate her, he said.

How the woman drifted a mile out into the water was not immediately known.

A bag of her belongings was found along the beach.

Just before 1:50 a.m., a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter located the woman, who was conscious and breathing, Bond said. She was taken to a local hospital, but her condition was unknown.