Abalone diver who died identified

The abalone diver who died Sunday was identified as 58-year-old Rory George Kondo of Sacramento.

An autopsy was conducted Monday but results wouldn?t be released until family had been notified, said Sgt. Clint Shubel, coroner?s office supervisor.

Kondo and a friend had been diving out of Timber Cove from a boat. When the friend returned to the boat he spotted Kondo floating face up in the water, a Sonoma County sheriff?s official said.

The friend got the unconscious man into the boat and back to shore. He called for help at about 10:50 a.m.

Timber Cove firefighters and state parks rangers responded to his call and conducted CPR on the man.

The Sheriff?s Department helicopter also responded and flew Kondo to a nearby awaiting REACH medical helicopter, where he was pronounced dead.

In 2008, eight people died while abalone diving off the Sonoma and Mendocino County coasts.

Kondo is the third person to die this year in connection with abalone diving on the North Coast.

On April 21, Otto Arndt collapsed and died while diving near Point Arena. Arndt, 63, of Marin County, had a medical condition.

On April 29, San Francisco ab diver Moon Choi died three days after collapsing near his car.

Choi, 61, had been diving near the Fort Ross reef on April 26. After diving, he?d walked up to his car and collapsed. He was flown to a Santa Rosa hospital but died three days later. The cause was cardiac arrest, Shubel said.