California diver missing - Laguna Beach

[DandyDon]

Coast Guard searching for missing 35-year-old diver near Crystal Cove State Park | KTLA

Crews on Sunday are searching for a diver who went missing near Laguna Beach the night before, officials said.

The diver, a 35-year-old man, was reported missing at 9:45 p.m. Saturday, according to a United States Coast Guard news release.

He was last seen wearing a camouflage wet suit in the area of Crystal Cove State Park.

His diving partner reported him missing to the Laguna Beach Fire Department, which called the Coast Guard to help with the search.

The Coast Guard sent out boat and helicopter crews to search the waters.

California State Parks, the Orange County Sheriffs Department and Laguna Beach Lifeguards all searched for the man throughout the night and morning hours.

But as of 3:50 p.m., they had yet to find the man, who has not been publicly identified.

Search and rescue operations are continuing Sunday and no further details were available.

 

[Esprise Me]

Always unnerving when someone around my age goes missing someplace I go diving. I know at one point the surf was forecasted to be pretty high this weekend; not sure if that prediction was accurate.

 

[Esprise Me]

There's been some chatter about this in the local Facebook groups. Several people have identified the diver, though I'm not sure if it's kosher for me to repeat his name since I'm still not seeing it in the news. He was reportedly freediving, not on scuba. There's some debate about exactly what conditions were like but it does seem like high surf may have been a factor. They are also reporting that the search and rescue was called off on Sunday.

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

The diver was recovered 20 miles south of where he was lost. The surf was huge that night he went missing. RIP

Very sad news; Tailsurfer, AKA Josh Bouna is presumed lost to the sea. - Spearboard.com - The World's Largest Spearfishing Diving Boating Social Media Forum

 

[Johnoly]

... RIP

Many times a deceased is never recovered in strong currents and rough conditions, so I'm glad that he was recovered. I never met Josh but traded frequent bug hunting stories comparing east and west coast differences with him on the other board. He was a very experienced diver.

 

[napDiver]

Luckily his body was recovered. I wish the best for his family.

 

[wgw04024]

Free diving at night, in surf. Is there something that is hunted in these particular conditions?

 

[yle]

Free diving at night, in surf. Is there something that is hunted in these particular conditions?

I'm going to suggest that hunting was unlikely; most of that area is an MPA and most experienced divers respect that.

Marine Protected Areas | Crystal Cove

 

[MaxBottomtime]

You can take finfish, urchins, and lobsters at Crystal Cove.
Southern California Marine Protected Areas

 

[Scuba Lawyer]

I'm going to suggest that hunting was unlikely; most of that area is an MPA and most experienced divers respect that.

Marine Protected Areas | Crystal Cove

He was hunting lobster. Perfectly legal at that location (south end of Park at Abalone Point).