U.S. Coast Guard officials suspended their search yesterday for a former U.S. Army soldier who was reported missing in the Pacific Ocean off Manhattan Beach after going for a swim, but sheriff’s department dive teams were still on the scene.
The man—identified as D.J. Jeffries of Hawthorne—was reported missing around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to friends at the scene. They said they did not hear Jeffries call out or struggle in the water.
Lifeguards at the scene reported strong lateral rip currents Tuesday.
The Coast Guard and county lifeguards started their search Tuesday evening but suspended the efforts around 9 p.m. because of darkness. The search resumed at dawn Wednesday, with a Coast Guard helicopter in the air before 7
a.m., said Los Angeles County Fire Department Dispatch Supervisor Michael Pittman.
Coast Guard officials said it conducted searches throughout the night.
According to the Coast Guard, the agency deployed the cutter Halibut from Marina del Rey, the MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Los Angeles and a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Station Los Angeles.
At about 8:30 a.m., the Coast Guard announced it was suspending its search, but sheriff’s divers would continue searching the water.
“It is always a difficult decision to end an active search, however, Coast Guard crews saturated the area for 16 hours in search of the missing swimmer,” said Capt. Jennifer Williams, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach.
Anyone with information that could help the search for Jeffries was urged to call the U.S. Coast Guard at (310) 521-3801.
