Abalone diver dies off Point Arena

An abalone diver died Saturday off of Point Arena, the second diver death in one week along the Mendocino coast.

A Mendocino County sheriff’s official Monday said the man was Eric Stine, 58, of Vallejo. Stine’s body was found Sunday morning in the surf, about a quarter-mile off the Point Arena Lighthouse and Manchester State Beach.

The man and a friend on Saturday had gone diving for abalone at about 2:45 p.m. off of Light House Road.

A call for help came at 7:12 p.m. when Stine’s friend told dispatchers he’d finished diving and it was getting dark and there was no sign of Stine. He said he’d last seen the man about 300 yards north of the light house.

Sheriff’s officials launched a search, using a helicopter, boats, deputies and firefighters who looked unsuccessfully into the night. The next morning the search resumed, with the sheriff’s volunteer search and rescue team, the U.S. Coast Guard, Redwood Coast volunteer firefighters and state parks and fish and game personnel.

Firefighters found the body at 10:05 a.m.

The prior weekend, a San Francisco man died while diving off of a Gualala beach. Victor Segundo De Leon, 56, had been diving with a friend off Cooks Beach when he apparently suffered a medical emergency. His friend swam him back to shore, where attempts were made to save him.

An autopsy was scheduled to determine how Stine died.