The search for a 24-year-old man who fell or jumped overboard from a Catalina Express vessel after the boat left Long Beach was called off and there were no immediate plans this morning to resume.
The announcement was made at 8:50 p.m. Friday by the U.S. Coast Guard Los Angeles.
"Pending further updates, the @USCG has called off the search for a man who fell from a Catalina Island passenger ship off Long Beach after utilizing 22 Coast Guard and partner agency assets to search more than 600 square miles,'' the Coast Guard tweeted.
The man went overboard about 6 p.m. Thursday, according to the Coast Guard, which was searching for him, as were the Los Angeles County fire and sheriff's departments and Long Beach Fire Department.
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The search involved helicopters and boats, the Coast Guard reported. Nearly two dozen vessels and aircraft searched more than 600 square miles (1,554 square kilometers) of ocean, the Coast Guard said in a tweet.
The man was reported to have jumped from the Jet Cat Express around 6 p.m. Thursday about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) off Long Beach, authorities said.
The high-speed catamaran is operated by Catalina Express. The company’s president, Greg Bombard, told reporters Thursday night that deckhands saw the man go overboard from the stern of the vessel.
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“When they saw him hit the water, they threw a life ring over,” he said.
A crewmember said the man was seen jumping from the boat, Long Beach fire spokesperson Brian Fisk said.
His grandmother identified him on Friday as Keion Dade, 24, of Southern California.
Freeman said she didn’t know why Dade would have jumped.
