Countywide : The Bottom Line Is Finding ‘Fred’ : Lifeguard Divers Practice Recovery Techniques

After circling for several minutes, the lifeguard boat unloaded three divers Thursday into the chilly water off Seal Beach Pier. Within 20 minutes they found “Fred,” a plastic dummy garbed smartly in Hawaiian shirt, trousers and Nike running shoes.

“We like to change Fred’s clothes and face mask every once in a while,” said David Armijo, 41, a member of the Los Angeles Port Police Dive Team. “Even up close he looks lifelike. It’s weird.”

Finding Fred was part of a training session that included divers from Newport Beach, Seal Beach and the port. The dummy, simulating a body, had been dumped off the west side of the pier Wednesday.

David Wenger, 38, the Newport Beach lifeguard who found Fred, said he was impressed with the port’s divers, who specialize in low visibility water searches and their communication skills under water.

“Their communication techniques are really good,” Wenger said. “They use different search patterns than we do but they communicate with a series of rope tugs and hand signals that show they have worked together a lot.”

“As lifeguards, we’re used to getting into the water closer to shore where the waves are breaking,” Wenger said. “And, instead of a technique, we’re usually screaming and yelling at one another.”

Teamwork and cooperation are keys to a good dive, said Los Angeles Port Police Lt. Martin A. Renteria, who headed Thursday’s dive.

“These guys are down there in about 20 feet of water and they can’t see each other,” Renteria said. “Although it’s bright up at the surface, it’s dark and murky down below. They have one hand on a rope they all hold onto, and are groping around the bottom with the other hand searching for a body.”

Divers are called on for body recoveries, collection of police evidence, and also to assist other agencies.