ANACAPA ISLAND : Officials End Search for Missing Boater

The Coast Guard called off its search Monday for a Thousand Oaks man reported missing and presumed drowned off Anacapa Island, but his family continued searching for signs of him.

Channel Islands National Park and Coast Guard officials confirmed that Monte Bolton, 27, is presumed to have drowned along with his brother, Bryan Bolton, 21, when violent storms swept into the area where they were exploring sea caves Saturday. The brothers, who attended college in Utah, were spending the holidays with their family.

Divers discovered Bryan Bolton’s body Sunday afternoon but were forced to discontinue their search for the second brother because of turbulent swells and darkness.

Five-foot seas and winds of more than 20 m.p.h. buffeted Anacapa’s coast Monday, preventing park divers from continuing, spokeswoman Carol Spears said.

Members of the Bolton family, undaunted by the weather, spent a second day searching for signs of Monte Bolton in the Vanguard, a 68-foot patrol boat they rented at Channel Islands Harbor.