SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - According to San Diego Fire-Rescue Marine Safety Lt. Andy Lerum, a body was found Sunday morning in the water off La Jolla Shores at a depth of near 175'. It is considered to be the body of the Jeffrey May, missing since Memorial Day after a solo dive in the area. A citizen made the discovery around 8am. It was in the same area searched by lifeguards earlier this week.
The body was brought to the surface and lifeguards were called shortly before 8 a.m., he said. "We responded and observed a (dead) person wearing scuba gear. He had been deceased for a number of days. The scuba gear was missing a weight belt.'' Lerum said. The medical Examiner's Office would determine the identity of the body, but he anticipated it would be that of 45-year-old Jeffrey May.
The diver who found the body, went out specifically to look for him. Several divers had been out in the water on their own time to help look for "one of their own".
This is a story update from 10:30am 6/3/2012. The previous story is below.
SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Authorities continued the search for an Oceanside man who went missing on Memorial Day after visiting La Jolla Shores for a scuba-diving outing.
As of early Wednesday afternoon, efforts to find Jeffrey May, 45, had turned up no sign of him, San Diego lifeguard Lt. Andy Lerum said. Searchers, including citizen volunteers helping municipal dive crews, planned to keep plying the waters and scanning the shoreline in the area until early evening, he said.
May went to the northern San Diego beach early Monday, telling his wife he planned to meet up with a diving group, according to lifeguards. About an hour later, May called his spouse to say he arrived at the Shores but could not find the others he had planned to dive with.
When May failed to return home or call his wife again for about 12 hours, she reported him missing.
May's car was found in a parking lot in the area, and a plastic tub holding his car keys, sunglasses and clothing was located in a grassy area along the beach. May rented a scuba tank and some diving weights at a nearby dive shop, but authorities could find no one who saw him entering the water.
Lifeguards spent several hours Monday and all day Tuesday searching the area in boats, aided by a Coast Guard helicopter.
Murky water conditions were continuing to make the job more challenging, Lerum said this afternoon. A San Diego fire-rescue helicopter crew was aiding the ground and water personnel, flying over shallow water areas. A contractor was providing two remote-controlled underwater vessels equipped with video cameras.
May's wife told authorities her husband had been a scuba-diving enthusiast for 25 years. A friend of his, however, said May had not gone on a dive since last summer and had never done one at La Jolla Shores.