October 2008 Archives

Police tell me that Lisa Castaneda has taken down the Obama effigy strung up outside her Redondo Beach house as a Halloween decoration.

The effigy depicted Obama hung by his necktie with a knife in his throat. Blood was all over his face and jacket. A sign in front of it said "Nobama."

Some neighbors weren't very happy. They said she had a right to put it up, but it was in poor taste.

Police say officers and a representative from John McCain's local campaign office paid a visit to Castaneda last night and convinced her to take it down. She did.

I'll be heading over to her house shortly. I guess some TV stations stopped by this morning to report the story.

Southern California Edison is making repairs on Abalone Avenue today after a power pole was discovered snapped with five live electrical wires down in the street.

The roadway is blocked Carson and 220th streets (map), Torrance police St. Mark Athan said.

Repairs are expected to take all day while Edison replaces the pole, Athan said. The road will remain closed to traffic during that time.

Sheriff's Lt. Dan Rosenberg said the man found dead on the beach below the Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes committed suicide.

At just before 9 am, I went for a walk down to the  beach below  
Trumps. A couple of sheriff' deputies arrived at the same time and  
headed off in a utility vehicle. I went the long way down  to the  
beach (to the left) and as I came around the point (heading west)  
there were 8 or 10 Trump workers standing around a body 20 feet or so  
from the water's edge.. 

 did not get very close, but this is what I saw. A man dressed in shorts and a brown sweat shirt was lying on his back with his head on a log as if resting peacefully. It looks as if  
his cell phone and perhaps a blackberry or a pager was sitting next  
to him, as if he had taken them out of his pocket before setting down  
to watch the ocean. There were a set of sandals by his bare feet.

He looked to be in his mid thirties, bald or closely shaven. His skin  
was a dull pink color. A sheriff was examining his wallet or something that he took out  of the man's pocket, and then set up a kind of perimeter around the body. I assumed that the man was dead,  ecause no one of the many people standing around were applying any   
medical aid. Ten or more fire rescue  workers passed me as I headed up  
the switchbacks to complete my ike. If there wasn't all the sheriff  
and fire personnel standing about, I would I figured that the guy was  
just taking a nap.

Crews were working this afternoon to collect the wreckage of a plane that crashed on Catalina Island, killing three people.

The wreckage will be taken by barge to Long Beach harbor and driven to a secure storage facility, said Kristi Dunks, a National Transportation Safety Board investigator.

The cause of the crash was not immediately known.

"We should have a preliminary report out on Friday or Saturday," Dunks said.

The single-engine Mooney M20J crashed while taking off from Catalina's Airport in the Sky on Monday. Two men and a woman were killed. One passenger survived and was taken to a hospital.

Their names have not been released.

Coroner's office Assistant Chief Ed Winter said X-rays and dental X-rays are being used to positively identify the victims because of the condition of the remains.

FAA spokesman Ian Gregor says the preliminary information is the plane was taking off and was a single engine low-wing plane.

Here's what we got so far (Kristin Agostoni reporting)

A small plane carrying two people crashed this afternoon at the Catalina Island airport, where firefighters are on scene, authorities said.

One individual was able to get out of the aircraft, but the other person's condition is unknown, Los Angeles County fire Inspector Frank Garrido said.

The private plane crashed at 1:24 p.m. on the airport grounds. It was unclear whether it was landing or taking off at the time, Garrido said.

This just in from detectives:

This just in from the Coast Guard:

SAN PEDRO, Calif.-At 1220 today, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department dive teams located a recreational vessel on the ocean floor believed to be the Bayliner that missing boaters Henry Sanchez, 51, and Penny Avila, 48, both of Santa Ana, Calif. were reportedly aboard.

A recreational boat fitting the profile of the missing 26-foot Bayliner was found upside down on the ocean floor, 5 miles south of the entrance to the Los Angeles Harbor at a depth of around 150 feet. The dive teams from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Port Police believe the vessel may be the missing Bayliner based on past photos of the boat and the location of the wreck near the suspected collision site.

Later this afternoon, the agencies involved will develop a dive plan and recommence operations on Wednesday morning in an attempt to refloat the hull and pass it on to the Coast Guard as evidence in the investigation.

The continuing investigation has been an ongoing inter-agency response, including the Coast Guard, Los Angeles Port Police, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Long Beach Fire Department, and Los Angeles County Lifeguards. The underwater surveys, led by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, have employed surface vessels, a remotely operated vehicle to survey the ocean floor, sonar technology and divers. 

A passing boater first notified the Coast Guard of a debris field 5 miles south of Los Angeles light on October 2. After searching over 300 square miles through the night into October 3, the Coast Guard suspended the search for survivors but has continued its investigation into the facts surrounding the boating accident.

Sanchez is the brother of Linda and Loretta Sanchez, who represent Southern California districts in the House of Representatives.

Divers searched again today for the remains of two boaters missing since a collision with a barge five miles from San Pedro last week. They found nothing after several hours in the water.

They will return Tuesday at 6:40 a.m.

Henry Sanchez, 51, and his girlfriend, Penny Avila, 48, both of Santa Ana, disappeared about midnight Wednesday when their 26-foot Bayliner collided with a barge.

Sanchez is the brother of Southern California Democratic Congresswomen Linda and Loretta Sanchez.

The Los Angeles County Fire and Sheriff's Departments, Port police, and Long Beach Fire Department are involved in the recovery effort.

The Coast Guard is continuing to investigate how the crash occurred.

This is a Coast Guard release just out. If you saw my story, Henry Sanchez is the brother of Congresswomen Loretta and Linda Sanchez.
:

SAN PEDRO - After a two-day search that covered more than 300 square miles south of the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles, the Coast Guard has suspended its efforts to find the missing boaters.

Responders recovered pieces of debris of an accident that likely happened shortly after midnight on October 2.  Henry Sanchez, 51, and Penny Avila, 48, were reported to be aboard a 26-foot pleasure craft bound for Santa Catalina Island.  Debris included a California vessel number that matches the vessel Sanchez and Avila were reportedly aboard. 

"The hearts and prayers of the Coast Guard go out to the families of those involved in this tragic time," said Captain Paul Wiedenhoeft, the Commander of Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach.

If any new information becomes available, search and rescue efforts may resume. Partner agencies are conducting sonar searches of the bottom to assist with the on going investigation.

Henry Sanchez, one of the boater's missing from the accident 5 miles south of San Pedro is a brother of Congresswomen Linda Sanchez and Loretta Sanchez.

The congresswomen issued this statement

"Yesterday afternoon, our family was notified by the U.S. Coast Guard of a possible boating accident involving a family member.  Our brother Henry Sanchez and his girlfriend Penny Avila left the Long Beach Harbor enroute to Catalina Island at midnight and they never arrived.  A debris field was found off the coast and it was determined fragments were from the boat our brother was on.  Our family is thankful of the search and rescue efforts by the U.S. Coast Guard and other local agencies.  We pray and hope that Henry and Penny are found alive and well."

This just in from the Coast Guard:

SAN PEDRO - The search continues this morning for survivors of a potential boating accident Thursday about five miles south of the Port of Los Angeles.  Clear weather today allows for good search conditions.

Two Coast Guard Station Los Angeles-Long Beach boats, Air Station Los Angeles, Coast Guard Cutter Narwhal and Baywatch Cabrillo and Redondo are all searching the area this morning for Henry Sanchez, 51, and Penny Avila, 48, both of Santa Ana, Calif.  So far the Coast Guard and its search partners have saturated 240 square miles.

A passing boater, at 7:30 a.m. October 2, notified the Coast Guard of a debris field and the Coast Guard immediately launched boats and a helicopter in dense fog.  Various pieces of debris were located and brought back the Coast Guard base in San Pedro.

An investigation into what appears to be a boating accident continues.

Response to Debris Field Update
U.S. Coast Guard
Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach

Press Release
Date: October 2, 2008

Contact: ENS Stephanie Young
(310) xxx-xxxx

Response to Debris Field Update
SAN PEDRO, Calif. - The recovery of objects from the debris field discovered this morning about five miles south of Los Angeles Light continues. Two Coast Guard small boats from Station Los Angeles-Long Beach, Baywatch Cabrillo, Baywatch Redondo, and Los Angeles Port Police are all assisting in the efforts.

 Additionally, the Coast Guard 87-foot Patrol Cutter, Narwhal, is coordinating efforts as On-Scene Commander.

Coast Guard is investigating the debris that has already been recovered and is looking into an incident that occurred in the vicinity of the debris field around midnight last night.

Investigators believe that some of the debris may be a part of a larger vessel that originally thought. However, the Coast Guard has not been notified of any overdue vessels.

The response was initiated this morning around 7:30 a.m. after a Good Samaritan called the Coast Guard by VHF radio and reported a debris field about 100 yards long.

There is currently a temporary 500 yard safety zone placed around the debris field. The safety zone will stay in effect until search and recovery operations are deemed complete by the Captain of the Port.

They are still searching the area five miles south of San Pedro where a debris field has been found. It's pieces of boat and life jackets.

Coast Guard officers aboard an 87-foot patrol boat, along with lifeguards from Redondo Beach and Cabrillo Beach are searching, along with Port police.

So far, no bodies or survivors have been found.

"There are pioeces of a vessel and so far the pieces are unidentifiable as far as who, what or why," U.S. Coast Guard Ensign Stephanie Young said.