News - Local

Published: Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009

Man found dead near flipped-over kayak off Cambria's shore

The victim, clad in a wet suit and diving gear, was pulled from under a bed of kelp; authorities say they don’t suspect foul play

Comments (0) |

A man was found dead Wednesday after his kayak was spotted flipped over in the waters off south Cambria.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Rob Bryn said a woman called 911 at 1:52 p.m. and said a man was in the water near a kayak offshore.

A nearby resident, Pat Butler, said she called 911 to report that a kayak was flipped over in a kelp bed about 300 to 400 yards out, after seeing the man paddle out earlier.

It was initially believed that two men were in the water, but a search by the CHP’s helicopter, Coast Guard, Fish & Game and North Coast Ocean Rescue team didn’t turn up another body.

Bryn said the man’s dive gear might have looked like another person in the water from a distance. Crews called off the search for a second diver about 4 p.m. after they talked to a friend of the man who said he went out alone.

The body of the man, whose name was not released pending notification of next of kin, was recovered at 2:11 p.m. by the ocean rescue team off the community’s Marine Terrace neighborhood.

A red Toyota Tacoma pickup parked at Sherwood Drive and Harvey Street may have belonged to him, Bryn said.

Dan Martin, 72, a longtime member of North Coast Ocean Rescue team, said the victim “was on the surface, right under some kelp. … I’m almost positive he got trapped under a big, heavy blanket of kelp and wasn’t able to get free to get a breath.

“He was in his free-dive wet suit and was wearing a facemask and fins. He had his weight belt on. He probably had no idea he was in trouble.”

Connie Jordan, who lives in the area, said the near-shore area off Marine Terrace is especially laden with kelp this year. Martin said this is the heaviest time of the year for kelp growth in the dense underwater forest.

“No foul play is suspected,” Bryn said, “but we’re not ruling anything out at this point.”

Bryn said in a news release that the man was 28 years old. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.

Nearby resident Kurt Voelker described a man around the truck about 12:35 p.m. as a thin, young man of average height with short, closely cropped brown hair.

Mike Boyce of Morro Bay is the engineer overseeing construction of the $3.5 million bridge replacement at Leffingwell and was on the scene Wednesday afternoon. As a diver, he noted that diving alone without a buddy is never advisable, a sentiment echoed by Martin.

Staff writers Nick Wilson and Kathe Tanner contributed to this report.