Missing diver Long Beach: Search continues for L.A firefighter who disappeared after diving offshore

Since December 5, 2024, emergency response teams in Long Beach have been looking for a missing diver in the Port of Long Beach.

The 28-year-old diver, who was recognized as an off-duty firefighter from the Los Angeles City Fire Department, had been enjoying a recreational dive with friends and was not performing any official duties when he went missing.

Long Beach Fire spokesperson Brian Fisk said that the firefighter along with two other friends was free diving. Free diving is a practice where individuals dive and swim without equipment like scuba gear, relying solely on holding their breath.

Later, two of the men emerged from their dive, but one remained missing, Fisk reported. At 9:55 p.m. on Wednesday, the group called for help, and by 10:17 p.m., the Long Beach Fire Department had deployed divers and marine resources to assist. Brian Fisk said:

“We presume that they were fishing but we don’t actually know what was the purpose of the trip... We are continuing to look, however, and expanding the grid search area.”

Fisk noted that search efforts near Pier J involve divers from the Long Beach, L.A. city, and county fire departments, as well as personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard, Long Beach Police, and Los Angeles Port Police.

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The Long Beach search-and-rescue operation has transitioned to a recovery operation

The Los Angeles Fire Department said in a statement that following over 19 hours of nonstop search operations in the water, the diver's chances of surviving and the diminished visibility made it difficult to continue the search.

On Thursday night, Unified Command made the decision to change the mission from a search and rescue to a recovery effort because of these challenges and the extended time since the diver was last seen.

The Long Beach Police Department has now assumed control of the incident while maintaining collaboration with the Long Beach Fire Department and Los Angeles City Fire Department.

Technical operations, including the use of sonar and other advanced technologies, will persist to locate and recover the diver.

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More about the fire-fighter who went missing at Long Beach

Kristin Crowley, Fire Chief of the Los Angeles City Fire Department, confirmed that the missing diver was off-duty and engaging in recreational diving on his day off, not performing any fire department duties at the time of his disappearance.

The off-duty firefighter, who has been with the department for six years, is currently assigned to an active fire station in Los Angeles, Crowley added.

The Los Angeles Port Police are addressing the issue by utilizing side-scan sonar, a technology designed specifically for detecting objects on the seafloor, as noted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.