Man Drowns, 2nd Missing After Boat Overturns

One Lancaster man drowned and another was missing after their small powerboat capsized in heavy seas Monday off Oxnard Shores, authorities said.

Both had taken the day off from work as ride mechanics at Magic Mountain amusement park in Valencia, according to the wife of drowning victim Lane Mitchell, 40. She said they had set off with Mitchell’s trailered boat about 4 a.m.

“We were going to sell the boat, and they were going to take it out fishing one last time,” said Doris Mitchell, a substitute teacher.

Mitchell was pulled from the water about 2:05 p.m. by rescue swimmers with the Oxnard Fire Department. He was airlifted by Sheriff’s Department helicopter to Ventura County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

A land and sea search continued into Monday evening for Mitchell’s companion.

Authorities said the pair encountered heavy winds and 6-foot surf Monday afternoon, about 200 yards offshore, just south of the beach at 5th Street.

A construction worker at a nearby beachfront home said the men appeared to be having engine trouble just before the boat capsized.

“They opened the engine compartment and got it going again,” said the man, who would not give his name. “They looked like they were doing fine.”

Neither man was wearing a life jacket, he said.

Moments later, the owner of the house said, the boat capsized and she called 911.

Other witnesses recalled watching in horror as strong currents quickly pulled the men south along shore and then under the choppy white water.

“I wish there was something I could have done,” said Carol Weiskopf, a nurse who had been walking near Mandalay State Beach. “But it was just too turbulent.”

Terry Miklos and Bill Gallaher, both rescue swimmers with the Oxnard Fire Department, found Mitchell’s body floating in the water off Oxnard State Beach, an area not served by lifeguards.

“We pulled him in and began administering CPR on him,” Miklos said.

Paramedics spent 25 minutes trying to revive him, and at 2:40 p.m. he was flown to the medical center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival, authorities said.

Doris Mitchell said that her husband died the same way his brother did more than 20 years ago.

“His older brother died when he was 18,” Doris said. “He drowned too. Lane’s always been kind of leery of the water ever since.”

Her husband was a good swimmer, she said, and always carried life jackets on board the family boat.

“Now that I think about it, when we went out to the lake, he would make everybody wear their life jacket,” Doris said. “But he wouldn’t always put his on.”

Lane loved roller coasters, his wife said, and his first job as a ride mechanic was at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park. He left soon after and had been working at Magic Mountain ever since, she said.