Sheriff unable to recover body from Montara cliffs

After a day and a night of unsuccessful attempts to recover a body from rocks at the north end of Montara State Beach, the San Mateo County Sheriff’s department is waiting for conditions when divers can get to site safely.

About 1pm on Thursday afternoon, a hiker climbing on the rocks at Montara Beach spotted a body on the rocks in the water at the base of the cliff.  Sheriff’s deputies who responded to the call couldn’t see the body from either the cliffs above or the rocks down below. A Harbormaster’s rescue crew approached the site on personal water craft they use for rescues. They were unable to get close enough to see the body in the rising tide and dangerous surf conditions at the base of the cliff. A California Highway Patrol helicopter confirmed the presence of the body later in the afternoon.

The Sheriff’s Department waited until the tide began to ebb in the late evening and early morning. A cliff rescue team in wet suits was to be lowered into the water, where they could recover the body. Despite a lower than average tide last night, the wind was whipping up a surf that made it dangerous for the recovery team. The department decided it was unsafe to recover the body last night.

A plane will fly by today to monitor the situation and the Sheriff’s Department is assessing the tides.  Sheriff’s Lt. Lisa Williams, who was on the scene Thursday, told me that the department would be monitoring the tides and surf conditions over the next few days until they are sure they can recover the body without endangering the recovery team.  The most favorable tides will be in the late evening and early morning.