Diver Missing Off Santa Cruz Island
A Lompoc man last seen diving off Santa Cruz Island, about 22 miles off the Ventura coast, is missing and feared dead after a Coast Guard search of the area failed to locate him.
The Coast Guard called off its search for Omar John Joly Jr. around 5:30 p.m. Saturday after concluding that there was little chance he had survived.
An investigation is continuing to determine what happened to the diver.
Joly had taken a charter boat out to the Painted Cove area of the island and was diving with two other people, according to the Coast Guard. He separated from them around 80 to 100 feet down and disappeared.
When last seen, he had just 20 minutes of air left. Using helicopters and divers from Long Beach and Ventura County, the Coast Guard searched from 1:50 to 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
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