Officers with the Hermosa Beach Police Department are continuing to search for a man missing since last Saturday evening, and are seeking any information the public may have.
Michael David Vanzandt, a 36-year-old Lancaster resident, was last seen about 10:15 p.m. March 5, leaving the line to enter American Junkie, heading west toward Roberts Liquor, police said. Vanzandt was spending that evening out with his friends, who searched the area for him and called him numerous times on his cell phone.
Local police are working with other agencies, including Los Angeles County Lifeguards, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Air Force, in their search for the missing man, said HBPD Det. Dean Garkow. Garkow said that while police are continuing the search, the amount of time that has elapsed since Vanzandt was last seen is not encouraging.
“We’re hoping to find some kind of break,” he said. “Now that it’s eight days old, it’s not looking too good.”
Police are investigating whether Vanzandt may have entered the ocean at some point after losing contact with his friends.
“It looks like on that particular night he went out for a swim,” Garkow said. “Everything so far kind of leads in that direction.”
Archived weather information information from surfline.com indicates that there was a rapidly rising swell impacting the Hermosa coast that weekend.
Vanzandt is a military veteran who did two tours of duty in Iraq. He works as a civilian contractor at Edwards Air Force Base, and is the father of three children.
As authorities continue their search, Vanzandt’s friends and family have been pushing their own efforts to rescue him. They posted flyers in downtown Hermosa Beach, and on Sunday deployed a drone off cliffs in Palos Verdes area to scan for the missing father.
Well-wishers also started a GoFundMe campaign to contribute to rescue efforts. As of Monday morning, the site had received 144 donations totalling nearly $10,000.
Vanzandt is described as a white male adult, 6 feet tall and weighing about 190 pounds. He has three distinct tattoos: a tiger in the jungle on his left bicep, a picture of a Buddha on his back, and “KEATON” in descending letters on his left calf.
Anyone with information in the case is urged to contact Det. Joshua Droz at (310) 318-0334 or Det. Garkow at (310) 318-0348.
