Diver swept away from group by rip current still missing, California rescuers say

UPDATE: A missing diver who disappeared after being swept away by a rip current has been found dead, California authorities said.

Zachary Nelson, 27, of Newark, was found dead on the “northern end of Fan Shell Beach” Friday, Feb. 3, the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said in a Feb. 4 Facebook post.

The original story is below.

A search for a missing diver swept away from a Monterey Bay beach by a rip current has been suspended, California officials say.

The 27-year-old diver went missing about 3:50 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 28, off Fanshell Beach when he and three other divers were swept away by rip currents, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release.

The three other divers were able to swim back to the beach, but the fourth remained missing.

The Coast Guard and local first responders searched for him by air and water, with winds up to 34 mph and 8-foot swells, the release said.

The Coast Guard suspended the search the following day, KTLA reported.

Anyone with information is asked to call 415-399-3547

Rip currents are “powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water” that can move faster than an Olympic swimmer at up to 8 mph, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

The agency estimates that rip currents kill 100 people annually in the United States. It advises anyone caught in a rip current to “swim parallel to the shore and swim back to land at an angle.”

This story was originally published January 30, 2023 at 9:46 AM with the headline "Diver swept away from group by rip current still missing, California rescuers say."