The search for a missing diver off the Port of Long Beach has come to a heartbreaking conclusion as Connor J. Lees, an off-duty firefighter with the Los Angeles City Fire Department, is presumed lost at sea. As per the LAFD press release, the 29-year-old was reported missing last Wednesday after a recreational diving excursion with friends. The Long Beach Fire Department, alongside a coterie of agencies including the Los Angeles County Fire Department Lifeguard Division and the U.S. Coast Guard, initially led the search through Friday evening.
Despite an extensive, two-day-long search incorporating divers and technical resources, authorities have ceased recovery efforts. Firefighter Lees, a six-year veteran stationed at Fire Station 94 in the Baldwin Hills/Crenshaw area, is now presumed to have been claimed by the depths after an operation involving multiple agencies was unable to locate him and all reasonable search efforts had been exhausted, a photo of the firefighter is forthcoming for aiding the public's assistance.
Earlier, the search had been magnified following the diver's failure to resurface while free diving, a sport practiced without scuba gear, according to Hoodline. Conditions were less than ideal, with visibility low in the waters 30 to 40 feet deep and temperatures hovering around 58 degrees. Brian Fisk with the Long Beach Police Department told the source that the group was near Pier J along Harbor Scenic Drive when the incident occurred.
The fourth member of Lees' party, who had stayed on their private vessel, reported the disappearance just before 10 p.m. on Wednesday not long before the Long Beach Fire Department divers began their search around 10:15 p.m. After two days of search efforts operating under a Unified Command structure, no signs of Lees have been found, Fox LA reported the preliminary efforts indicating the gravity of the situation despite the collective hope for a positive outcome. Any individuals with information about Lees' whereabouts are encouraged to contact the Long Beach Police Department Missing Persons Detail at (562) 570-7246.
