Searchers Find Body of Missing Diver

The body of a missing diver from Irvine was recovered Wednesday afternoon more than 100 feet below the surface in waters off Anacapa Island, authorities said.

The family of 45-year-old Joo Hwan Hong had chartered a boat in Ventura on Wednesday morning, and one of nine divers who volunteered to search found the victim about 1:30 p.m., authorities said.

Hong’s wife and children and several other family members were aboard the dive vessel Spectere when Hong was found.

Hong was reported missing about 10:30 a.m. Sunday when he failed to resurface while diving in the area with a Los Angeles diving club.

More than a dozen sheriff’s deputies who dive and the Coast Guard searched for Hong on Sunday and Monday but ceased looking Tuesday because of rough seas.

James Baroni, a senior deputy coroner, said an autopsy was scheduled today to determine how Hong died. The victim’s diving equipment also will be tested.

Baroni said Hong was an experienced diver but had only returned to the sport a few years ago after a lengthy hiatus. Hong was found face down in his wetsuit and had with him a couple of fish he had caught and killed.

The case was being handled as an accident, authorities said.