Autopsy Planned on Body Found in Ocean

An autopsy is scheduled for Monday in Santa Barbara on a body found floating in the ocean off Santa Cruz Island near the Scorpion Ranch.

A fisherman discovered the body about 8 a.m. Saturday near the Scorpion Anchorage at the southeast end of the island.

The area had been closed for the past few weeks after an overnight storm dumped 11 inches of rain, flooding the Scorpion Ranch campground.

Historic buildings were knocked off their foundations or destroyed, and officials estimated damage to the ranch at up to $1 million.

As a result of the damage and a fear that subsequent storms could threaten property and lives, the superintendent of Channel Islands National Park, Tim Setnicka, closed the ranch to the public.

Only recently has the ranch been reopened for day use, and Setnicka said the body probably is unrelated to the storm.

“This is very strange,” Setnicka said. “No one was reported missing to us.”

Ken Bortolazzo of Santa Barbara discovered the body, said Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Sgt. Jim Peterson. Bortolazzo notified the park service ranger on Santa Cruz Island, who contacted the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department. That agency has jurisdiction over four of the five islands in Channel Islands National Park.

“We always treat something like this seriously,” Setnicka said. “The Sheriff’s Department is clearly better suited to follow up on this kind of thing.”

The Coast Guard cutter Point Carew, based at Channel Islands Harbor, was on routine patrol in the area Saturday, and the crew retrieved the body about 9:15 a.m. Crew members took the body to Santa Barbara Harbor, and sheriff’s deputies delivered it to the Santa Barbara County morgue.

Authorities could not determine whether the body was that of a male or female. They hope the autopsy will shed light on the person’s identity and cause of death.

“The body was unidentifiable due to being in the water for up to two weeks,” said Peterson.

The only clothing on the body consisted of remnants of blue jeans and a boot, Peterson said.

Authorities said it did not appear that the person met with foul play.