Abalone picker, trapped by tide, falls to his death climbing Mendocino Coast cliff

In the latest death of an abalone hunter on the Mendocino Coast, a Contra Costa County man perished this week after he became trapped by an incoming tide and fell to his death trying to climb to safety.

Joel Falcon, 52, lost his footing on the steep coastal cliff and fell about 75 feet to the rocky shore below, Mendocino Sheriff’s Capt. Greg Van Patten said Wednesday.

The El Cerrito man’s death Tuesday was the fourth abalone-?related fatality in Mendocino County in 10 days in the young season, which started April 1. Three men died April 12, soon after getting into rough water off Caspar Cove, a popular abalone site near Fort Bragg.

Deaths of abalone-seeking divers occur annually, almost routinely, along the Sonoma and Mendocino coasts as thousands flock to the ocean hoping to pry the tasty mollusks clinging to rocks several feet below the surface.

But these four deaths so early mark the fastest, deadliest start to the season in recent years.

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Westport volunteer Fire Chief Frank Maurice, who responded along with several volunteers to Tuesday’s fatality. “It’s not even the end of April and we’ve already had four.”

“The season just started April 1. This many this quick …” lamented Debbie English, assistant manager at the Westport campground where Falcon and his friend were staying. “I was in Caspar a couple of weekends ago when that all happened there. That was another sad, sad day.”

Five people died last year during the season, which starts in April and ends in November, with a one-month break in July. In 2013, eight people were lost, including three who died within 24 hours in April. In 2012, two people died. and in 2011 four abalone divers died off the North Coast, including two in April within two days, according to Press Democrat records.

Tuesday’s fall occurred about 20 miles north of Caspar, near the community of Westport and a landmark called Hardy Rock.

Falcon and a longtime friend, a 40-year-old El Cerrito resident, had gone to the small cove early Tuesday morning to hunt for abalone in the rocks during a low tide. Such low-tide hunting is known as “picking,” and involves wading into the water in wetsuits to reach around rocks rather than swimming out into the ocean with a mask and fins to dive deep.

By Tuesday afternoon, the tide was coming in and their route to the top was cut off, Van Patten said. They initially wanted to wait until the water began receding, but then became worried about the rapidly dropping temperature.

“The tide came in rapidly, trapping them,” Van Patten said. “They decided to wait it out … until low tide. But they were wet and cold and decided to climb up the cliff.”

At the time Falcon fell, he was somewhere near the top and his friend about 15 feet from the bottom.

After Falcon fell, his friend climbed down to him, retrieved a cellphone and called for help, reaching an emergency dispatcher at about 4:45 p.m.

Falcon was familiar with the area and had been going to the Mendocino Coast for years but it was the friend’s first time there, according to people who spoke to the friend after the incident. The man struggled with directing rescuers to their location, Cal Fire Capt. Jesse Torres said.

The dispatcher instructed the man to perform chest compressions on Falcon. High above on Highway 1, emergency responders from Westport, Fort Bragg, the Sheriff’s Office, Cal Fire and paramedics hustled to find the two men, who were tucked down in the small cove. A helicopter flew overhead, residents said.

It took about 30 minutes for the first responders to get to the right cliff and another 15 minutes or so to pinpoint their location and reach them. Paramedics determined Falcon had died and called for the Mendocino County sheriff’s coroner’s office at about 5:40 p.m., Van Patten said.

A Coast Guard helicopter and Cal Fire helicopter were dispatched but turned back when the man was declared dead, due to regulations against carrying deceased people.

Westport, Fort Bragg and Cal Fire firefighters combined efforts in a complicated, labor-intensive rope and winch recovery effort that took until about 8:15 p.m. to get the body to the top, Maurice said.

Westport’s volunteer critical incident chaplain responded to help with the difficult scene, Maurice said.

The dangers of the coast are many and while most abalone divers die from drowning or medical emergencies from the rigors of the effort, other dangers also exist including fast-moving. rising tides.

The Westport chief said the tragedy is a reminder for people to be aware of the variables at the coast. “Read the timetables,” Maurice said. “Be aware of the tides. Watch out for steep cliffs. Listen to locals.”

Knowing the timing of the tides could help one determine whether to wait out a high tide or to find an alternative route out, he said. On Tuesday, another low tide was at 8:11 p.m.

After Falcon’s death Tuesday, his friend returned to the Westport Beach Campground, where the two men had camped the night before. The distraught man spoke with campground workers about what had happened on the cliff, said Michelle Kunde, a campground host.

“We were all sad. It was a somber experience,” Kunde said. “He saw him fall and had to go back down. He was very disturbed. They were longtime friends.”

The man said Falcon had been carrying a bag of abalone but discarded it part way up the cliff, Kunde said.

Kunde said the man left Wednesday morning, driving Falcon’s vehicle. “He packed up and left. He didn’t want to have to look at the ocean again.”

A family member of Falcon’s, reached Wednesday by phone, declined to comment or identify herself, other than to say “He loved what he was doing,” referring to his quest for abalone.