Fishing Boat Capsizes off Santa Cruz Island

Byline: Log News Service

SANTA BARBARA (LOG NEWS SERVICE) — Four men died after their small boat capsized during a daylong fishing trip near Santa Cruz Island.

The bodies of three of the victims have been recovered and the search for the body of the fourth man — aboard the 24-foot boat, which they launched from Channel Islands Harbor on March 10 — has ended.

The Coast Guard said the search began March 11 after a family member of one of the missing men contacted the Channel Islands Harbor Harbor Patrol, reporting that the boaters had left for a fishing trip at 10 a.m. and had been due to return at 8 p.m. March 10.

The bodies were sighted at around noon March 11 off Santa Cruz Island by the crew of a Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Los Angeles, Coast Guard Lt. George Kolumbic said.

Kolumbic said by the time rescue boats arrived on the scene March 11, they were only able to find three bodies.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said that the three victims recovered so far have been identified as Ventura County men: 37-year-old Sophorn Bun Sieng of Oxnard, 54-year-old Edgar Allen Isnec of Port Hueneme and 52-year-old Ramiro Alvarez Duarte of Oxnard. Authorities said they have ended the search for the fourth victim, Jose Juan Perez, 37 of Camarillo.

None of the victims were seen wearing life vests, according to Coast Guard Petty Officer Adam Eggers. The Ventura County Star reported that officials said they had not received a distress call from the stricken vessel.

— Reports from the Associated Press were used in this story.