2 men go missing in Palos Verdes, overturned boat found

Los Angeles County’s Fire Department was leading the search Tuesday for two adult men who didn’t show up to a scheduled boat ramp meeting in Palos Verdes. An overturned vessel was found near the meeting area.

At around 5:30 a.m. lifeguards responded to a marine search and rescue in the 1800 block of Paseo Del Mar in the Palos Verdes Estates area of Palos Verdes near Paddle Board Cove and Lunada Cove.

A friend was scheduled to meet the two adult men near Cabrillo Marina but they never showed up. The friend then contacted a number of local public safety agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, and the search began, according to Pono Barnes, a spokesman for LA County’s Lifeguard Division.

One of the land-based resources spotted the vessel overturned on rocks between Paddle Board Cove and Lunada Cove. Fire department personnel gained access through a trail to search the vessel and found no one inside.

“There was a small debris field to the north and south of the boat but no signs of any persons,” Barnes said. Lifeguards searched the shoreline about a mile north and south of the overturned vessel.

“We have a very large surf right now, surfs in the 8 to 10 foot range in that specific area,” Barnes said. Those conditions, coupled with fog and clouds, posed a challenge to search and rescue crews.

“We were able to utilize the drone in the area once the fog kind of cleared. That resource was very valuable,” Barnes said.

The search for the two men remains ongoing.