Sept. 07--Rescue boats were plying waters off Catalina Island on Monday morning for a boater missing after a crash that killed a fellow passenger.
The accident near Descanso Bay occurred early Sunday morning when a dinghy carrying five passengers collided with another vessel, according to the Coast Guard. One man, identified as Michael Harris, died, two others suffered minor injuries and a third received a head injury, authorities said.
Harris was the son of the former chief executive of the San Francisco 49ers, Peter Harris, who confirmed his death in a Facebook post.
Rescuers were unable to locate the fifth passenger, a man authorities declined to identify, in the wreckage or during a daylong search Sunday. The Coast Guard suspended its search Sunday night, but two boats from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and one from the port police are continuing to look for the man's body.
A sheriff's department spokeswoman said the search was considered a recovery operation and no longer a rescue.
"They don't expect to find this person alive at this point," Deputy Amber Smith said. "It would be wonderful if they did, but they don't expect that."
Two other search operations were also continuing Monday morning. In waters off Santa Barbara County, the Coast Guard was looking for a man seen disappearing into the ocean near Point Sal Beach State Park.
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A Coast Guard spokeswoman said a bystander reported the man swept off the beach around 4:30 p.m. Sunday. The Coast Guard dispatched a helicopter, a cutter and a second boat to search Monday.
Also, boaters from Orange County to Catalina to the Ventura County coast were being urged to look for a blue whale that became tangled in fishing lines last week near San Pedro. The 80-foot whale was last seen Friday trailing about 400 feet of line between Los Angeles Harbor and Catalina.
"Everybody out on the water... is keeping an eye out for it and that's all we can do at this point," said Justin Viezbicke, California Stranding Network coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
harriet.ryan@latimes.com
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