Scuba Diver Dies near Anacapa Island

A 59-year-old Hayward woman died Friday morning while scuba diving near Anacapa Island.

According to Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer Adam Eggers, Marla Rodriguez surfaced unconscious after approximately 15 minutes of diving, and a crew member aboard the Spectre — a commercial dive vessel based out of Ventura Harbor — made a mayday call.

As another crew member administered CPR, a Ventura Sheriff’s helicopter arrived on the scene and lowered a paramedic onboard. He continued CPR and used a defibrillator to try and restart Rodriguez’s heart, but she was declared dead.

Eggers said the the woman’s body, accompanied by her husband, was transported back to Ventura Harbor and met by personnel with the county’s Medical Examiner’s office. An autopsy was performed, and toxicology results are pending.