Long Beach divers reported missing from Huntington Beach oil rig and identified dead – Orange County Register

Authorities identified a man who was separated from a group of divers who were exploring waters near an offshore oil processing facility 5 kilometers off Huntington Beach and was later found dead by search teams. on Sunday, January 16.

Theodore Watler, 65 years old, of Long Beach, is a man was searched by the crews for more than four hours After he was reported missing Sunday morning, Los Angeles County Coroner officials said. He was one of a number of recreational divers that chartered a commercial vessel to take them there Elly’s platform, a popular location, said Long Beach Fire Department spokesman Brian Fisk.

The operators of the chartered boat contacted the US Coast Guard to report Watler’s disappearance, Fisk said. The agency then asked the LBFD to join them in the search at around 10:30 a.m

Teams on several ships and planes searched for the missing diver. He was then discovered around 3 p.m. by Long Beach Fire personnel using a diving robot, Fisk said. He was found about 250 feet deep in the water near the Elly station platform.

It is not immediately clear whether Watler became separate from the other divers he was traveling with. Further information was not immediately released.