Authorities resumed searching today for an Oceanside man who went missing on Memorial Day after visiting La Jolla Shores for a scuba-diving outing.
Jeffrey May, 45, went to the northern San Diego beach early Monday morning, telling his wife he planned to meet up with a diving group, city lifeguard Lt. Greg Buchanan said. She reported him missing about 8 p.m.
May's car was found in a parking lot in the area, and a plastic tub holding his car keys, sunglasses and clothing was located in a grassy area alongside the beach.
May had rented a scuba tank and some diving weights at a nearby dive shop, but authorities could find no one who saw him entering the water. The dive-group members also reported no contact with him.
Lifeguards spent several hours searching from aboard boats and on shore vehicles, aided by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, before suspending the operation about 11:30 p.m., Buchanan said.
The effort resumed at 6 this morning. Almost three dozen divers from the San Diego Police Department and lifeguard agencies up and down the coast were taking part, along with the federal maritime agency and the San Diego Harbor Police. The latter department deployed a vessel with sonar equipment, Buchanan said.
As of midday, the search had turned up no sign of May, with the possible exception of a diving mask that might have belonged to him.
Murky water conditions were making the job more challenging, Buchanan said.
"We can't see very much, which makes it that much more difficult,'' he said.
May's wife told authorities her husband had been scuba-diving for 25 years. A friend of his, however, said May had not gone on a dive since last summer and had never done one at La Jolla Shores, Buchanan said.
