A man died Sunday after rescuers pulled him from the Pacific Ocean in critical condition more than eight hours after he went missing during a jet ski trip from Long Beach and Catalina, authorities said.
Los Angeles County Fire Department Fire Department Lifeguard Division, the U.S. Coast Guard and other officials sprung into action after receiving reports that Jean Carlos Cheryl had gone missing, according to the fire department.
A friend of the victim called authorities shortly before 11 a.m. to report the jet skier had not made it to Catalina as planned, Coast Guard officials said in a written statement.
Two Coast Guard cutters and a helicopter crew were deployed to search for Cheryl, along with Los Angeles County Fire Department lifeguards and other local first-responders, officials said.
The Coast Guard helicopter crew spotted a riderless jet ski about 2 p.m., but Cheryl himself was nowhere to be found, according to the Coast Guard.
The airborne searchers spotted the missing man about 7:50 p.m., floating in the water about eight miles southeast of the Long Beach Lighthouse, authorities said.
Rescuers hoisted Cheryl aboard the helicopter and rushed him to Long Beach Memorial Hospital, where he was soon pronounced dead.
#marineIC : search location pic.twitter.com/I7JHaDMYGF
— LACoFD Lifeguards (@LACoLifeguards) February 11, 2019
