Divers Find Boat Worker’s Body in Bay
A 31-year-old San Pedro man drowned off Newport Beach while working on a sailboat Friday evening, police said.
Kelly Ward’s body was found by police divers near the dock of the Balboa Yacht Club where he had been working. A co-worker told police that he left Ward on the dock for a short time, and when he returned Ward was missing. The Newport Beach Police Department sent a dive team after being notified at 6:50 p.m.
“The missing man [now deceased] was located at the bottom of the bay very near the boat he had been working on,” a police spokesman stated in a report released Saturday.
Friends told police that Ward suffered from seizures, which may have played a role in his death.
The cause has not yet been determined by the county coroner’s office, which will conduct an autopsy, said Bruce Lyle, a supervising deputy coroner.
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