Diver missing off Santa Cruz Island is experienced boat captain, lobster diver
By From staff reports
Updated Sunday, December 5, 2010
The search continues today for a 27-year-old man missing since Saturday morning in the waters off Santa Cruz Island.
The diver, identified as Christopher Carlsen by the U.S. Coast Guard, was lobster diving with his father just north of Fraser Point on Saturday. He was reported missing around 10:30 a.m. Saturday, failing to resurface from a 20-foot dive after an hour and a half, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
He was wearing a black wet suit, SCUBA gear and a silver oxygen mask.
This morning, the search continued with a Coast Guard helicopter out of Los Angeles; the Cutter Blackfin, out of Santa Barbara; a 47-foot rescue boat from the Coast Guard station at Channel Islands Harbor; two small boats from the parks service and divers from the Ventura County and Santa Barbara sheriff’s departments.
“At this point, there hasn’t been anything found — good or bad,” Petty Officer 3rd Class Cory Mendenhall of the Coast Guard said this morning. “The plan is to continue to search throughout the day ... Everyone’s still hoping for good news.”
Carlsen is an experienced diver and loves the water, spending the past summer running an offshore charter boat in Alaska, according to friend and fellow Alaska charter captain Andy Martin.
Martin said Carlsen, known as “Captain K.C.,” talked about lobster diving a lot. He also is involved in coaching youth basketball, another passion, Martin said.
Though the search continues in earnest, Martin fears the worst.
He called Carlsen a great person who loves to fish and to share the outdoors with others. That’s one reason he became a charter boat captain.
“He wanted to help other people experience the thrill of being out there on the water,” Martin said.
