Full Notification

At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Monday, July 20, a 55-year-old Montecito resident left his home to go ocean kayaking by himself off of Santa Claus Lane Beach.  After a couple hours of paddling out in the open ocean he was knocked off by a wave and lost his kayak several hundred yards off the coast and started to swim towards the shore.

After failing to come back home for dinner as planned, his wife became concerned and dialed 9-1-1 to report him overdue.  A Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s deputy was dispatched and located the subject's car at Santa Claus Lane Road but there were no signs of the missing kayaker.  The U.S. Coast Guard launched a 45-foot response boat and deployed a Coast Guard Air Station helicopter.  A Santa Barbara County Air Support Unit was also deployed and personnel from the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Protection District responded to assist.  After a couple hours of looking for the kayaker with no success, the air units returned to their stations due to dense fog developing along the coast.

At approximately 9:30 p.m. personnel from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Search and Rescue (SBCSAR) team were called in to help search and 14 team members responded.  At 11:50 p.m. one of the SBCSAR team members located an unattended kayak matching the description of the one used by the missing kayaker just east of Lookout Park County Beach washing back and forth in the surf.  At approximately 12:20 a.m. another Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team using night vision goggles spotted the missing kayaker stranded on the rocks below the cliffs at Loon Point.

The kayaker was in good condition despite some cuts on his feet.  The Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team members assisted in getting him off the beach and back to his vehicle. 

The Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team is an all-volunteer organization of the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office providing search and rescue services to the community at no charge.  The team is looking for new members and is holding a recruitment meeting tomorrow, July 22, at 7:00 p.m. at the Santa Ynez Aiport Pilot’s Lounge.  All interested individuals are welcome to come learn more about how they can serve in this elite organization.