3 die in 2 days fishing for abalone
A man who drowned Thursday morning off the Mendocino County coast was the third person in two days to die while harvesting abalone in the area, authorities said.
The man, whose name was not released, was diving for abalone with two friends when he apparently drowned in choppy surf near the Point Arena Lighthouse, his friends told lighthouse manager Rae Lynne Radtkey.
He was pulled from the water by one of the friends and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
A day earlier, a 60-year-old Gilroy woman died while abalone fishing with a group in the same area, authorities said. An autopsy was pending to determine what killed Selina Sau Yee Cheung, but preliminary investigations suggested she did not drown, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Lt. Rusty Noe said Thursday.
About 35 miles to the north, Arthur Boyd, 70, of Atascadero, Calif., apparently drowned Wednesday morning while searching for abalone in a cove near Caspar, authorities said. Family and friends found him floating face-down in the water and pulled him out, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
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