Diver who died at Salt Point State Park identified as CHP lieutenant

A Rohnert Park man who died while scuba diving with friends off the northern Sonoma Coast was identified Monday as CHP Lt. Jeffrey Alan Rhea, Sonoma County sheriff’s officials said.

Rhea was diving in Gerstle Cove in Salt Point State Park on Sunday when one of his friends found him unresponsive, floating at the surface, authorities said. Rhea could not be revived, despite a sustained effort to resuscitate him by his friends, followed by a state parks ranger, lifeguards and a Sheriff’s Office paramedic. He was 54.

A Marine Corps veteran with a ?27-year career with the CHP, Rhea leaves behind two adult daughters, CHP spokesman Officer Jon Sloat said. “We send our greatest sympathy to Jeff Rhea’s family,” Greg Baarts, commander of the Santa Rosa Area CHP office, said in a statement. “Jeff was an integral part of our command and our CHP family. It is a great loss for all of us.”

Rhea joined the Santa Rosa office in 2009, following years of service in San Jose, Oakland and the Central Valley, Sloat said. Rhea enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1980 and became a chief warrant officer before he retired from the reserves in 2011.

Sloat said Rhea was authentic. “He was a trustworthy guy, you could take him at his word,” he said.

Jeremy Stinson, a supervising ranger with State Parks, said that he was told Rhea and his friends were experienced divers.

Gerstle Cove is a favorite spot for diving because it is sheltered with little influence from wind or surf, making it a calm place for divers to set out, Stinson said.

On Sunday, it was windy and the water was choppy, not ideal conditions for diving. It wasn’t immediately known what caused Rhea to become unconscious in the water.

A state parks ranger near the area when the 911 call came in at 3:02 p.m. saw two divers swimming Rhea to shore, about 300 feet offshore in an area outside of the small cove, he said. Rhea was still wearing his scuba gear, including mouthpiece.

Sonoma County Sheriff’s Lt. Al Vernon said Monday the coroner’s office is conducting an investigation into the cause and manner of Rhea’s death. Stinson said that Rhea’s equipment, including a tank equipped with a computer, was given to the Sheriff’s Office for review.

Staff Writer Mary Callahan contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at ?521-5220 or julie.johnson?@pressdemocrat.com.