A missing swimmer’s body was recovered around 5 p.m. at Zuma Beach on Sunday, July 12, according to L.A. County Fire Department (LAFD) Lifeguard Captain Remy Smith.
Jose DeJesus Garcia, 28, from Sun Valley, was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:10 p.m., according to the L.A. County Coroner’s Department Assistant Chief Ed Winter.
Rough water conditions were reported throughout the weekend, and “on the day of the drowning, there were 78 total rescues on Zuma alone,” LAFD Lifeguard Captain Kyle Power said.
Strong winds, high surf and large riptides added to the already busy weekend, with an additional 70 rescues reported on Saturday and between 20 and 30 rescues reported on Monday at Zuma Beach.
“Our rescue counts go up when we have larger surfs, it’s all based on weather and conditions,” Power said. “If we didn’t have the high surf, we wouldn’t have these kinds of rescues.”
“The incident occurred at Zuma Beach Tower 9,” Winter said. “The initial call was a possible drowning while swimming in the ocean. Part of the reported information, he was discovered down toward the ocean floor after an hour long search”
Around 4 p.m., multiple agencies responded to an alert for a possible missing swimmer near Tower 9 at Zuma Beach.
LAFD Lifeguards reported witnessing a man go under the six- to eight-foot waves at the beach, and were unable to relocate the man.
Just after 5 p.m., helicopter rescue operations located Garcia above the water and attempts to revive the victim through cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) were unsuccessful.
“We had a multiple-victim rescue,” Smith said, explaining that three other victims in the area were rescued. “The male victim that went down was the farthest one out, and he was already submerged.”
Although several victims were rescued at the time, initial reports that Garcia may have been at Zuma Beach alone were later confirmed from the coroner’s office.
“His family said he was not a good swimmer,” Winter said. “However, they thought it was really unusual that he went swimming alone.”
Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station Beach Team members also combed the shore for potential witnesses, friends or family members, but investigation efforts were unsuccessful.
Support for search and rescue operations were deployed on the sand, in the air and in the water to find the missing swimmer, with additional reinforcement requested via boat from the Marina del Rey Sheriff’s Station.
“We deployed our rescue boat, multiple lifeguards, the dive team and we also deployed the jet ski,” Smith said. “We did a line search and had swimmers in the water, too.”
Garcia’s death marks the first drowning victim of the year at beaches in Malibu, according to Power. “We have contingency plans and operational plans for this type of scenario where we undergo substantial training,” Power said. “We separate our personnel to search in, under and around the water.”
“Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Air Rescue 5 was deployed to the area, and the situation was resolved prior to the sheriff’s response,” Lieutenant Jim Royal with the Malibu/Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station said.