Los Angeles County Lifeguards recovered the body of 21-year-0ld Daniel Thorne from the ocean Sunday evening shortly after 7 p.m., approximately two hours after two acquaintances reported losing sight of the man in the surf line at 7th Street in Hermosa.
The lifeguards quickly set up a “grid search,” according to Hermosa Beach Police Information Officer Sgt. Robert Higgins.
A release from the HBPD said that it was reported that the Lancaster man was not an experienced swimmer and that he was with the two friends when several large waves caught them and began to pull all three of them into deeper water.
“The victims two friends attempted to assist the victim, but were unsuccessful,” the release from Sgt. Higgins said. “The victim was last seen going under a wave and out of sight. The two friends were able to exit the water without injury.”
Rotating teams of approximately 20 lifeguards, with arms interlocked, entered the water on either side f a buoy marking the spot where the man was last seen, approximately 100-feet from shore. The teams then systematically worked their way north and south, diving in unison to the ocean floor every few feet.
Many of the lifeguards participating in the search just recently passed the lifeguard swim qualification swim test and are currently attending the Los Angeles County Lifeguard Training Academy.
Two Baywatch boats, the Lifeguard SCUBA rescue-team, a Coast Guard helicopter, a Coast Guard ship and the Redondo Harbor Patrol also participated in the search, Higgins said.
After repeated sweepings of the ocean bottom, one of the lifeguards called out that they had found the man, just a few feet from the buoy marking where he had disappeared.
The water, Sunday evening, was an enticingly warm at 68 degrees, but also bumpy because of a strong afternoon wind. Large surf over the past week has made conditions unusually dangerous by creating an uneven bottom, with sand bars that give way without warning to deep holes. The high-tide may have also made it difficult for the victim to climb up the sand berm leading down into the water, Sgt. Higgins said. ER
