Abalone diver missing along Mendocino County coast

An Oakland man who disappeared while abalone diving off the southern Mendocino County coast Monday morning remained missing as of late Monday, sheriff’s officials said.

Three other people were rescued from the shoreline and cliffs along the Mendocino coast on Monday, the Coast Guard reported.

“To have three cases in one day is unusual,” said Coast Guard Officer in Charge Chris Wright.

The 57-year-old abalone diver was with a group of friends near Moat Creek beach a little after 9 a.m. Monday morning when he vanished from view, sheriff’s and fire officials said.

Sheriff’s search and rescue volunteers, the Redwood Coast Fire Protection District and a Coast Guard helicopter responded to the call, said sheriff’s Lt. Greg Stefani.

By the time divers arrived, the seas had become too rough for a water-based search, and emergency responders were limited to scouring the ocean with binoculars from dry land, Stefani said.

A water-based search will be launched this morning, he said.

The Mendocino Coast was crowded Monday with visitors, many taking advantage of low tides to pick abalone, he said.

“Everybody was there. It was a beautiful day,” Mendocino Fire Chief Ed O’Brien said. But there also were treacherous 10-foot waves, he said.

O’Brien said his department has launched seven boat rescues since April 1, when abalone season began.

One of the rescues saved a boy, but his father, Lake County Sheriff’s Deputy Jake Steely, drowned. The two had been walking on a rocky beach near Mendocino when they were washed out to sea.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com.