Cal Poly student dies while surfing near Bay Area

A 20-year-old Cal Poly student died Sunday while surfing with friends at Pomponio State Beach in San Mateo County.

The San Mateo County Coroner’s Office confirmed that Malcolm Feix, a third-year electrical engineering student from Moss Beach, died but did not provide a cause of death, the Half Moon Bay Review reported Monday.

Feix worked as a seasonal lifeguard in Half Moon Bay for five years but was not on duty at the time of the incident, according to a tweet from the California State Lifeguards on Tuesday afternoon.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Malcolm’s family, the Half Moon Bay community, our lifeguard family, and the first responders that worked so hard to save him,” the tweet said.

Bill Wolcott, the public safety superintendent for California State Parks’ Santa Cruz district, told the Half Moon Bay Review that an unidentified friend, who was working in the lifeguard tower at Pomponio State Beach at the time, pulled Feix from the water.

The Half Moon Bay Review wrote a profile of Feix during his senior year of high school, when he was a star on the boys water polo team and maintained a 4.5 grade-point average.

This story will be updated when more information becomes available.

This story was originally published July 24, 2018 at 4:28 PM.