Body found in ocean off Central Coast after report of drifting sailboat

A body was discovered off of Santa Barbara on Sunday after a sailboat was reported drifting without anyone aboard, according to the Harbor Patrol.

Around 1:30 a.m. Sunday, captains aboard TowBoatUS Assist Ventura came across the sailboat while they were responding to an unrelated call offshore of Santa Barbara.

The sailboat had its lights on and its sails up, but no one was at the helm, TowBoat USA representatives said in a social media post. The captains started yelling and using horns to try and contact anyone on board.

With no response, one of captains went aboard the sailboat and confirmed it was unoccupied. They then alerted the Coast Guard that there may be a person overboard, according to Towboat USA.

Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol crews found the body of a man in the water after searching the area for two and a half hours.

Harbor Patrol Lt. Nathan Alldredge told Noozhawk that the body was found several miles from the boat, but identification found on the body linked the deceased person to the boat.

The Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau is investigating the incident and hadn’t released any information regarding the victim as of Monday afternoon.

This story was originally published November 28, 2023 at 9:40 AM.