Divers searching for an off-duty California Air National Guard airman who was swept by a wave into the sea south of Monterey recovered his body Wednesday morning, authorities said.
Twenty-four-year-old Khiem Nguyen, of San Jose, was visiting Big Sur with three friends when he was swept into the ocean early Tuesday.
The U.S. Coast Guard and several other agencies called off their search Tuesday evening after looking for the man by air and boat for several hours.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Public Safety Dive Team found Nguyen’s body shortly after beginning its underwater recovery effort Wednesday morning. Nguyen’s body was transported to a Coast Guard ship at Monterey Harbor, the sheriff’s office said.
Nguyen, a drill status guardsman for the 129th Rescue Wing based at Moffett Air Field in Mountain View, is the second person in less than a month to be swept off the rocks at Soberanes Point, 54 miles south of Santa Cruz. The other person was rescued.
Local agencies say the rescue effort in this case was a “challenge'' due to rocky terrain and strong ocean waves.
Col. Gregory Jones, commander of the 129th Rescue Wing, said in a prepared statement that the squad was "deeply saddened by the loss of one of our wing members Tuesday morning."
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"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and we are doing all we can to support them during this very difficult time.," Jones stated. "We ask that everyone respect the privacy of the family."
"We want to take this opportunity to thank the USCG, Cal Fire and the several partner agencies that responded to the search," he stated. "We appreciate their efforts to help bring our airman home."
Bay City News contributed to this report.
