Watch CBS News

Second Abalone Diver Dies Off Mendocino County Coast

POINT ARENA  (CBS-SF) -- A 58-year-old Vallejo man has become the second diver in a week to die while attempting to harvest abalone along the Mendocino County coast, authorities said Monday.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office identified the diver as Eric Stine.

Deputies responded at 7:12 p.m. Saturday to a report of a missing  diver in the 45000 block of Lighthouse Road in Point Arena, sheriff's Lt. Greg Stefani said.

Stine and another man began diving for abalone around 2:45 p.m. The other diver finished as it got dark and last saw Stine in a cove about 300 yards north of the Point Arena Lighthouse, Stefani said.

Helicopters, boats and people on land searched for Stine into the night and continued the search. His body was found around 10 a.m. Sunday by the Mendocino County volunteer search and rescue team about a quarter-mile north of the lighthouse in the surf at Manchester State Beach.

Crews from the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Noyo River, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, California State Parks and the Redwood Coast Volunteer Fire Protection District also participated in the search, Stefani said.

The death was the second involving an abalone diver in Mendocino County in less than a week. San Francisco resident Victor Segundo De Leon, 56, died on Nov. 22 off Cooks Beach near Gualala, according to the sheriff's office.

Chief Deputy Coroner Shannon Barney said the cause of death is pending in both cases.

Six divers have died in Mendocino County alone this season, which started April 1 and ends Monday.

TM and © Copyright 2015 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2015 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.