Crash Victims Mourned in Variety of Ways

The public mourning for the 88 victims of Alaska Airlines Flight 261 continued Saturday, featuring a Hindu ritual on the beach, moments of silence observed by surfers and kayakers paddling in the Pacific and a prayer service at Pepperdine University to which President Clinton sent condolences.

At the same time, the grim task of recovering the remains of the passengers also continued. The Coast Guard said more bodies have been recovered in addition to the four found immediately after the crash. Sonar mapping of the crash site also has revealed the presence of an unspecified number of bodies on the ocean floor.

In Port Hueneme, police roped off a large portion of the beach for 60 mourners who gathered in a circle on the sand. Many of the mourners wore saris, dark suits and long black skirts.

Roselyn Shankar, 17, traveled from Sacramento with her family to remember the good times she had had with her cousin, 19-year-old Anjesh Prasad, at his family’s home in Seattle. Prasad was a ground service agent for Horizon Air, a sister company of Alaska Airlines.

“We were really close,” said Shankar. “We used to go over there all the time. He was so fun and used to dance all the time.”

Flight 261 crashed about eight miles off the Ventura County coast while en route to San Francisco, Seattle and Alaska from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

Indar Deo from Vancouver, Canada, lost his son, 23-year-old Avine Deo. Avine, a Seattle resident and one of nine brothers and sisters, had gone to Mexico for a three-day vacation.

“He was my grown son,” Deo said. “He was such a nice boy.”

Several men had their hair cut on the sand.

“In my [Hindu] religion, when somebody dies, they get their hair cut,” Shankar said. “It’s part of our tradition.”

Farther down the beach, Jeff Knight, his wife, Melinda, and his sister, Jenny, sang and prayed for the Knights’ parents, who died in the crash.

Holding a Bible and wearing a pink ribbon, Jeff Knight pledged to continue his parents’ missionary efforts in Mexico. Joseph and Linda Knight were ministers from Monroe, Wash., on their way home after ministering in Puerto Vallarta.

“We are going to carry on our parents’ legacy,” he said.

Patrice Brucia, a friend of the Knights, came to the beach with her husband. She said she believes the Knights are in a better place.

“Linda and Joe in December made a pact with God that when it is their time to leave the Earth that they want it to be together,” she said. “I think they are having the time of their lives right now.”

Several hours later, three dozen airline employees and their children gathered at the same pier to offer a final goodbye to colleagues who died in the crash.

The employees--some wearing their airline uniforms--sat and stared at the sea while others walked, cried and hugged.

About noon, three dozen kayakers mourned in their own way by paddling out of Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard to waters just off Silver Strand Beach, where they formed a floating prayer circle.

The kayakers held up their paddles during a moment of silence, and placed roses and other flowers into the water. From a yacht traveling alongside the entourage, 80 doves were released. The birds circled the mourners and flew off toward the coast.

Gregg Remer of Port Hueneme, a member of the Santa Barbara Kayak Assn. and the organizer of the event, said the water prayer circle was based on a Hawaiian tradition performed for divers, fishermen, surfers or kayakers lost at sea.

At Surfers Point in Ventura, 75 surfers paused during a surfing contest to remember the victims. The Ventura Surf Club gathered 100 yards offshore and formed a circle around three members who each said a prayer.

A school of dolphins frolicked nearby as the group observed a moment of silence. After the prayer, the surfers tossed 60 bouquets of flowers and a floral wreath into the middle of the circle.

“Everything sooner or later makes it back into the water,” said Art Simmons, who helped organize the ceremony. “It’s the giver and taker of life.”

Rick Dowden, 43, of Ojai, was moved to plan the event after learning that one of the victims was the son of his wife’s best friend, Laura Camuti of Hermosa Beach.

“It was something I felt like I had to do,” he said.

A formal memorial service took place Saturday afternoon at Pepperdine University in Malibu. Twenty-one buses filled with friends and family caravaned from the Wyndham Hotel near LAX for a memorial service attended by Gov. Gray Davis, and featuring a letter from Clinton.

“There are no words that can ease the pain of your devastating loss,” said the letter read by Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater. “We hope you can draw strength and comfort from one another and from the knowledge that Americans throughout the nation share your grief. Hillary and I are keeping you all in our thoughts and our prayers.”

Davis said many share the families’ grief.

“I know there are few words to soothe the anguish one feels when a loved one leaves them suddenly,” said Davis. “All the people of the state I represent share our grief with you, share our love with you, and share our prayers with you.”

As many as 400 people, representing law enforcement, the Red Cross, the federal and state governments, and lawmakers from Alaska, gathered in the campus gymnasium. Everyone was given a rose, and afterward the group moved outside to watch a helicopter lift off and carry the flowers out to the crash site, where they were dropped.

“You can’t help but take a step back and reflect on how many lives were affected” by the tragedy, said Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), who was deeply affected by the service. “Think of the tragedy of losing a father or son and multiply that 88 times, all in one room.”

While the grieving continues, so does the investigation into the cause of the crash, and the grim task of identifying victims. At a news conference, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Eric Nishimoto said the county medical examiner’s office has not yet identified any of the victims.

But he said more body remains and debris had been brought in overnight and on Saturday. He said the department now has several nearly complete bodies, and hundreds of smaller body parts.

Nishimoto said medical examiners were using dental records, distinguishing marks, personal property such as wallets, and DNA to identify the remains, but didn’t expect to be certain of the identities for at least a week.

He also appealed to the public not to touch any object that could be related to the crash. If residents find anything they should call 654-2311. The medical examiner will continue to operate an office out of the Port Hueneme naval base for up to two weeks, Nishimoto said.

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Times staff writers Margaret Talev, Anna Gorman and Fred Alvarez contributed to this story. Also contributing was Times Community News reporter Catherine Blake.