Man Drowns, Brother Is Swept to Sea on Outing at Black’s Beach

A relaxing afternoon at Black’s Beach in La Jolla turned deadly for a group of friends Thursday when one member of the party drowned and his brother was swept out to sea by powerful riptides.

Florentino Pineda Bonilla, 19, was pronounced dead at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla at 3:50 p.m. after efforts to resuscitate him failed. His 25-year-old brother, Jose Guadalupe Bonilla, was listed as missing Thursday night after a fruitless search by lifeguard boats and a helicopter.

The Bonilla brothers, who had been staying in San Diego, lived in the Mexican state of Oaxaca and had limited swimming skills, their friends told authorities.

Deputy Coroner Cal Vine said the two men were wading in waist-deep water about 2 p.m. when they apparently stepped in a hole and lost their footing. Friends spotted Florentino in the rough surf and pulled him onto the sand, where a passer-by identified as Chris Andrews performed CPR, lifeguards said.

Another beachgoer, meanwhile, climbed the rocky cliffs overlooking Black’s Beach to summon help, and lifeguards from the La Jolla Shores station arrived on the scene just before 3 p.m., according to supervising lifeguard Lt. Brant Bass.

Florentino was taken by Life Flight helicopter to Scripps, where he was declared dead 20 minutes later.

Searchers on a U. S. Coast Guard helicopter and two boats from the lifeguard headquarters in Mission Bay failed to turn up any sign of Jose Guadalupe. Their hunt was called off about 4 p.m. and will not resume today.

Lifeguards said the brothers had been wading on a state-owned stretch of the popular beach below the Torrey Pines Glider Port.

“It’s safe to assume these individuals . . . were non-swimmers,” lifeguard Matt Rowland said.