Officials End Search for Missing Diver
The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday halted its search for a 53-year-old Santa Barbara man who disappeared Tuesday afternoon while diving for sea urchins off the coast of Santa Rosa Island.
Elwin O. Swint Jr. was last seen about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday by people on a passing sailboat who told authorities they saw him in the water yelling for help, said Coast Guard Petty Officer Francis Fitzpatrick.
By the time the sailboat reached Swint’s location, he had vanished. Authorities were investigating whether the sailboat’s rudder accidentally cut Swint’s air line.
Helicopters, Santa Barbara County sheriff’s divers and a Coast Guard cutter were dispatched to search for the man. But by 9 a.m. Thursday, Swift had not been located and the search was called off, Fitzpatrick said.
“Until we have some evidence to resume the search, we are not going to actively look,” Fitzpatrick said.
Swint’s fishing vessel was found anchored in the area where he was last seen, Fitzpatrick said. Swint is a former Navy SEAL who has worked as a commercial fisherman for more than 20 years.
Authorities said he was an experienced diver who may have suffered an embolism after returning to the water’s surface too quickly.
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