Abalone hunter found dead off Sonoma Coast identified

Tuesday’s death was the first in Sonoma County this abalone season.|
RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A man hunting for abalone who died Tuesday off the Sonoma Coast was identified Wednesday as a Sonora man.

Kenneth Klaverweiden, 32, had been looking for abalone in the rocks in Fisk Mill Cove early Tuesday morning and was seen by a state parks lifeguard, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

About 1:45 p.m. a woman hiking in Salt Point State Park spotted what she believed was a body and called 911.

Several emergency agencies responded and a state lifeguard retrieved Klaverweiden’s body.

He had been seeking abalone in the rocks, rather than diving, when seen early that morning. Whether Klaverweiden had also gone diving wasn’t clear.

Abalone season is often a deadly affair with multiple deaths each season. This is the only abalone-related death so far this season in Sonoma County. A 58-year-old Oakland man died May 27 while diving for abalone near Point Arena in Mendocino County.

-Randi Rossmann

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