The County Sheriff’s Office reported what appears to be an accidental drowning off Montaña de Oro after waves overturned a man kayaking offshore and rescuers were unable to revive him.
Sheriff’s spokesman Tony Cipolla said at 10:20 a.m. Saturday, May 2 that dispatch received a report from the State Park in Los Osos of a kayaker in distress.
Cipolla said witnesses reported the kayaker was flipped over by waves and that it appeared the life vest he was wearing “somehow slipped off his body. The kayaker was located and CPR was performed but he was pronounced dead at the scene,” Cipolla said.
The kayaker was identified as Ralph Sutter, 78, of Arroyo Grande.
The emergency call triggered a multi-agency response including the Sheriff’s Office, State Parks, Coast Guard and Cal Fire out of Los Osos.
Montaña de Oro State Park is a popular spot for various forms of recreation, including surfing, kayaking, mountain biking, hiking and horseback riding.
The beaches at the park are open to the ocean and subject to intense wave action, including so-called “sneaker waves,” or a wave that rolls in occasionally that is much larger than previous waves. It’s one of the reasons a sound piece of advice to anyone on the shore is to never turn your back on the ocean. It’s unknown at this time if that’s what happened here.
