Search and recovery divers with the Santa Barbara County Sheriffs’ Office and other law enforcement agencies have now recovered the bodies of 33 of the 34 people killed when a sudden fire engulfed the Conception, a 75-foot-long charter dive boat moored 20 yards off the coast of Santa Cruz Island early the morning of September 2. That leaves one individual still to be accounted for. The County Coroner’s Office is equipped to handle no more than 20 corpses at any given time, and the Los Angeles medical examiner has provided a couple of mobile coolers and medical examiners to help determine the identities of the victims and the causes of death.
Search and recovery dives will continue; underwater conditions are reportedly favorable. Divers with the FBI and Los Angeles County Sheriff are assisting in the undertaking; logistical support is being provided by the Coast Guard, the National Parks Service, San Luis Obispo Sheriff, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, and the City of Long Beach Police Department.