Crews look for the body of Joseph Sanchez last Thursday. Screenshot courtesy of KTLA-TV Channel 5.
10:00AM | Additional reporting by CNS.
A body discovered Sunday morning was identified as a Long Beach man who went missing after diving off a cliff into water in Rancho Palos Verdes last week, authorities said.
Eighteen-year-old Joseph Sanchez had been missing since Wednesday and was presumed to have drowned while cliff jumping with friends.
After a multi-day search that began Wednesday near Inspiration Point that included divers scouring a cave and several helicopters and six boat patrols, the body was located at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, according to Los Angeles County Fire dispatcher Art Marrujo. The county coroner’s office confirmed the body discovered was Sanchez.
A family member noticed a body floating in the water during a vigil service held for Sanchez on Sunday.
“Members of the family began screaming from Inspiration Point saying there’s somebody in the water,” Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. David Rozas told ABC7. “Deputies and other personnel ran down there and sure enough found somebody floating face down in the channel at Inspiration Point.”
July 10, 10:15AM | A search resumed today for a young Long Beach man who may have drowned in Abalone Cove, authorities said.
The search began about 6:30 a.m. and is being conducted by the sheriff’s Emergency Services Bureau, said Lt. J. Anderson of the sheriff’s Lomita station. She said today’s search effort would focus on similar locations as Wednesday.
The 19-year-old from Long Beach jumped into the cove with friends to explore a cave Wednesday afternoon, then encountered difficulties, said Toogee Zepeda, one of the people who was in the water with the man. Zepeda said a friend threw the man a rope, but he was unable to grab it.
Rancho Palos Verdes Mayor Jerry Duhovic said there had been 30 rescues at Abalone Cove since Sunday, with the possibility that the 19-year-old would be the second fatality.
“We’re asking people to stay away,” Duhovic said in an interview with NBC4. “We’ve had two tragedies in three days and we don’t need any more.”
Terry Yamamoto of the Los Angeles County Fire Department ‘s Lifeguard Section said social media and the cove’s setting made it irresistible to young swimmers.
“They walk down this trail and they see kids jumping off the rocks and say, ‘This is great fun, I’m going to do that,’ ” Yamamoto said in an interview with KCAL 9.