Memorial service for Lake County deputy set for Saturday

A memorial service will be held Saturday to honor a Lake County deputy who died last week after being pulled from the ocean near the town of Mendocino.

Jake Steely, 39, and his 11-year-old son were walking on rocks below the Mendocino Headlands when a wave swept them into the ocean, according to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office.

The son survived, but Steely, who spent an estimated 10- to 15 minutes face down in the water before rescuers could pull him out, was unresponsive, Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department officials said.

He was resuscitated, placed on life support and flown to a Butte County hospital, where he was pronounced brain dead four days later. He was taken off life support once his organs could be removed for transplants, Lake County sheriff’s officials said.

The cause of Steely’s death was asphyxiation due to drowning, according to the Butte County Coroner’s Office.

The memorial service is scheduled for noon at Clear Lake High School’s Don Owens Stadium in Lakeport, Lake County sheriff’s authorities said.

Parking will be available at the Lake County Fairgrounds. Attendees will be shuttled from the fairgrounds to Clear Lake High School and then back to the fairgrounds after the memorial service.

No privately owned vehicle will be permitted to park on the school grounds.

Shuttle services will begin at 10 a.m.