SONOMA COUNTY (KRON) — The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office has identified the person who died while scuba diving over the weekend.
54-year-old Jeffrey Alan Rhea of Rohnert Park was scuba diving in Salt Point State Park off of the Sonoma Coast on Sunday when he died.
Rhea was a 27-year veteran of the California Highway Patrol, currently holding the position of lieutenant. He was also an ex-Marine, enlisting in 1980 and then serving in the reserves until 2011.
“We send our greatest sympathy to Jeff Rhea’s family,” commander of the Santa Rosa area CHP office Greg Baarts said in the Facebook post. “Jeff was an integral part of our command and our CHP family. It is a great
loss for all of us.”
He’s survived by two adult daughters.
Rhea was diving for abalone with two others when he began struggling in the water.
Lifeguards and a sheriff’s paramedic tried to revive Rhea, but he was pronounced dead at a bluff near the water.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office is conducting a follow-up investigation surrounding the cause and manner of Rhea’s death, said Watch Commander for the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, Lieutenant Al Vernon.
This is the fifth death of the abalone diving season, which began last month.