Santa Ana Heights Diver’s Body Found
The body of a 44-year-old Santa Ana Heights man who apparently drowned while scuba diving was found Saturday off Santa Catalina Island, authorities said.
Jay Shepard Mallen was found dead by county lifeguards from the Isthmus station about 3:25 p.m. in Geiger Cove in about 30-feet of water, said Deputy Fidel Gonzales of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Information Bureau.
Mallen and his diving partner, David Plisco, 42, also from Santa Ana Heights, had completed two dives and were starting a third when Plisco noticed Mallen having problems just below the surface, Gonzales said.
Plisco then lost sight of Mallen. He alerted lifeguards who dove for the body and retrieved it about hour and a half later, Gonzales said.
An autopsy will determine the exact cause of death, Gonzales said. The pair had left San Pedro this morning on a charter boat.
Geiger Cove is located near the town of Two Harbors.
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