An abalone diver believed dead but lost in rough ocean waters Sunday off the Mendocino County coast was a 50-year-old San Francisco man.
Efforts to recover the diver from Elk Harbor took most of the day but stopped by about 3 p.m. Sunday due to the turbulent water, said Bob Matson, assistant chief for Elk volunteer fire.
We cannot find him, Matson said. Right now the way the ocean is, there is no way to access where these guys were.
The man and three friends had driven to Elk from San Francisco early Sunday for a day of abalone diving, Matson said.
The ocean is really rough and they were abalone diving and went into this cave, a u-shaped cave with two entrances, Matson said. For whatever reason one in the party was in trouble. They took him back further into the cave and administered CPR in standing water.
Believing the man had died, they left him in the cave and headed out to report the death. It took about 30 minutes for the three to get up to the bluffs and call 911, the assistant chief said.
The call came at 9:05 a.m. and generated a huge response of emergency crews including Elk, Mendocino and Cal Fire firefighters as well as two helicopters, a U.S. Coast Guard boat out of Noyo harbor and a state fish and game boat.
Two rescue divers attempted to search the caves to see if the man was there but had to abandon the idea because of the rough water.
Its unknown whether the body flushed out of the cave or hes still there, Matson said.
Recovery efforts were expected to resume Sunday evening.
The mans diving ability wasnt known. While he wore a wetsuit, he didnt wear a weight belt, which is standard for ab divers.
Elk Harbor typically isnt a common place for abalone diving, but more divers have been seen in the area of late.
Two guys got in trouble in exactly the same spot a month ago, Matson said.
Those two were in the harbor when one apparently felt sick. A rescue helicopter helped them both to safety.
Two rescues in the same place in a month is a lot for us, he said.
This is the third abalone diver death off of the Mendocino Coast this season. One man died May 31 and one on June 6, both near the town of Mendocino.
Elk is a small coastal community between Point Arena and Mendocino.
