Santa Barbara Sheriff’s investigate recovered diver in connection to 2020 missing person

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif.– Santa Barbara Sheriff's Office investigates the recovered body of a deceased diver near Painted Cave Preserve Sunday. Sheriff's speculate the diver could be connected to a 2020 missing person investigation.

Santa Barbara Sheriff's Underwater Search and Recovery team alongside LA Sheriffs' Special Bureau initiated the recovery mission after two bystander divers reported a possible body near the ocean floor in an underwater cave system to local authorities on Nov. 5.

On Nov. 11, officials succeeded in the dive recovery mission. The body of the diver was transported to the Sheriff’s Office Coroner’s Bureau for further investigation and identification determination.

The location of the body corresponds with the last known information of the missing diver in 2020.