D.J. Jeffries, 25, of Hawthorne, who had been tossing a football with two friends in the ocean at 18th Street in Manhattan Beach Tuesday evening. is believed to have drowned. Witness Karim D. (who asked that his last name not be used), said he believes the Jeffries was swept out to sea by the rip current.
D.said he saw the two men who were tossing the football with Jeffries come ashore Tuesday evening about 5 p.m.. Then he saw the Jeffries knocked down by a wave. When Jeffries surfaced, he was knocked down by a second wave, D. said.
“Then I think I saw him taken out by the current. But it was hard to tell because there is seaweed and other stuff in the water,” he said. “My girlfriend said I should ask his friends if they knew where the guy was. They didn’t, so I ran to the lifeguard tower.”
Conditions were relatively calm, but occasional head high waves were breaking close to shore.
Lifeguards responded at 5:15 p.m., according to Lifeguard Public Information Officer Lidia Barillas.
The response team included Lifeguard SCUBA divers, Lifeguard personal watercraft, Baywatch Redondo and Marina Del Rey, the Coast Guard Cutter Halibut and Coast Guard, Sheriff’s and Los Angeles Fire Department helicopters.
The Lifeguard dive team searched the ocean bottom outside the surfline, with assistance from side sweeping sonar and a submersible ROV (Remote Operating Vehicle). The search was complicated by poor visibility, estimated to be about five feet.
Teams of six lifeguard swimmers with fins and masks searched the bottom near shore. The swim teams formed lines and advanced two strokes, dove, surfaced, backed up one stroke and dove again.
The search was halted at dark Tuesday evening and resumed Wednesday morning at dawn. At press time Wednesday, the search was ongoing. ER
