A scuba diver who went missing in the ocean off El Segundo on Sunday while on the hunt for lobsters was found dead Monday inside a power plant intake and outflow pipe.
A Los Angeles County sheriff’s dive team found the body of 45-year-old Jeff Tolly about 11 a.m., said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Sondra Kay Kneen.
The Coast Guard received a call at 11 a.m. Sunday from a friend of Tolly’s, who reported him missing after going diving about three miles north of the Manhattan Beach pier, Kneen said.
“The victim and his friend had motored up the coast from Huntington Beach to dive and fish the underwater structures in the area,” said Spencer Parker, public information officer with the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s Lifeguard Division.
“The boat operator opted to fish, while his friend went scuba diving by himself,” Parker said. “The two agreed to reconvene at the surface at a designated time; when the diver did not appear, his friend called 911.”
On Sunday, lifeguards used a remote-operated vehicle, side-scanning sonar and divers to search for Tolly while a fire department helicopter and Coast Guard searched above the surface, Parker said.
All but the Coast Guard search was suspended overnight but a larger effort resumed after daybreak with assistance from sheriff’s department divers.
“There is a history of divers going into that pipe,” Parker said, explaining that it was an intake and outflow pipe for an NRG power plant. “We had enough intel to lead us to focus our search efforts inside that pipe.”
He said it was unclear what led to Tolley’s death, which is now the subject of investigations by the sheriff’s department and coroner’s office.
—City News Service