A 65-year-old Fort Bragg man died Monday while kayaking at Van Damme State Park.
Donald Paul Strauss was declared dead at the scene by paramedics after a rescue swimmer recovered his body from a sea cave after a late-night search, the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office said.
The Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department was dispatched shortly after 9 p.m. on the report of an overdue male who was wearing a black wetsuit in a white kayak.
Sixteen firefighters responded with two Jet Skis and a rescue boat operated by the department’s ocean rescue team. Also three rescue trucks, one equipped for cliff rescues with ropes, hardware and a special wench system, responded to the scene.
It was dark, and since it was not known which direction the kayaker took, MVFD Chief Ed O’Brien asked for mutual aid from Albion Little River Volunteer Fire Department to get more eyes on the scene and more help. Cal Fire also sent an engine and the chief requested the Coast Guard’s helicopter.
“We launched the skis and the boat from Van Damme Beach and sent teams to the north and the south to search along the cliff edge,” said O’Brien. “We found a house close to the edge on the south end with a good back deck and asked the owners if we could enter. The occupants said they saw a kayaker enter a sea cave at about 2:30 and not exit. They were visitors from out of town, and they were not sure if there was a tunnel out so they did not think it was an emergency.
“The kayak matched the description, so we positioned lights on the deck and directed the skis and boat to the area. From this observation, it was probable that the kayaker had been inside the cave area for over seven hours.”
Rescuers on the Jet Skis attempted to enter the cave and got a visual on the body and the kayak.
“We were glad to have the visual so early in the call,” O’Brien said.
The ocean team attempted to enter the sea cave, and at the same time MVFD, Albion Fire and Cal Fire firefighters set up a picket and rappel system on cliffs above the beach end of the cave as “plan B” in case a rescue from the ocean was not possible. Ocean conditions in the cave were rough.
The Coast Guard rescue helicopter and a rescue swimmer arrived just after 11 p.m. They lowered the swimmer into the ocean and recovered the body. Mendocino Coast District Hospital paramedics at scene assessed the patient and confirmed the victim was deceased at about 11:45 p.m.
The multi-faceted recovery involved land search, ocean and cliff rescue personnel and helicopter support.
Agencies involved were State Parks, Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office, Mendocino Coast District Hospital ambulance, U.S. Coast Guard, Cal Fire, Albion Fire and Mendocino Fire. They were released from scene at about 12:30 a.m., Tuesday.
It was especially dangerous due to the darkness of the night, O’Brien said. Mendocino Fire only recently obtained helmet lights for its ocean rescue team, and heavy scene lights for the skis and boats.
The key message Chief O’Brien would like to remind the public is to be aware of the ocean’s dangers under all conditions.