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http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070430/NEWS/704300380/1033/NEWS01
Petaluma man drowns while scuba diving
Large waves hamper rescue efforts off Stillwater Cove; death is fifth diving fatality this month
By KATY HILLENMEYER
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
A 50-year-old Petaluma man drowned Sunday morning while scuba diving in turbulent waters off Stillwater Cove Regional Park, said a Sonoma County Sheriff's helicopter crew leader who helped try to rescue him.
"He was in this churning water, all whitewater, where you can't really swim and you can't really breathe," sheriff's Sgt. Eric Thomson said. "Just a very, very dangerous spot."
The diver, _________, became wedged underwater in a crack of an offshore rock, Thomson said, and large waves hampered efforts by a friend, lifeguard and the Henry-1 helicopter crew to pull him to safety.
The scuba diver's drowning increased the death toll for divers to five this month on the North Coast. Four others died earlier in April while hunting for abalone, a sport that in the past decade has claimed 30 lives on the Sonoma/Mendocino coast.
______ had come to the park north of Jenner with two abalone-diving friends, who both got out of the water because of the rough seas.
Apparently equipped with scuba gear and a spear gun for fishing, "he went tank-diving by himself," Thomson said. "He was below the surface for a half-hour or so all by himself, which is something we discourage."
_____ surfaced, waving and yelling for help, but his friend's efforts to assist him with a float failed when large waves buffeted them, eventually causing the buddy to lose sight of _____, Thomson said.
At about 9:30 a.m. Sunday, the sheriff's helicopter responded along with state park lifeguards and Timber Cove Fire personnel. A county parks ranger had received a report of a diver in distress and radioed for help.
The white, aerated water hindered visibility, and treacherous conditions limited rescuers' ability to search for the diver, the sheriff's department reported.
Henry-1 crew members spotted a green fin _____ was wearing. They landed the helicopter to suspend a 100-foot line to pull the diver from the surf using a "horse collar" rescue device.
Thomson, pilot Paul Bradley, paramedic Sean Cotton and lifeguard Osh McNulty all collaborated in the rescue attempt, preparing to administer life support after Thomson and the diver were flown out of the water.
But _____ was pronounced dead at the scene.
