The tranquility of the Santa Barbara Harbor was disrupted by a grim discovery on November 26, 2023, as the Santa Barbara County Sheriff Coroner’s Bureau revealed the identity of the man found overboard as 50-year-old Jimmy Price from Daly City, California. His presence, tragically discovered under distressing circumstances, unveiled a mystery that shrouded the serene waters.
The chain of events leading to this unsettling revelation began when Captains aboard the TowBoatUS Assist Ventura, responding to an unrelated call for service off the Santa Barbara coast around 1:30 a.m., spotted a sailboat eerily adrift near Leadbetter Beach. The vessel, aglow with its lights on and sails unfurled, presented an eerie sight—an empty helm devoid of any soul to navigate its course.
Attempts to establish contact, employing horns, vocal calls, and VHF ch16, echoed into the silence that enveloped the unmanned craft, met with disheartening silence. It was an ominous indication that something was amiss—a vessel left adrift, devoid of its master.
As the Coast Guard was alerted to the potentiality of an overboard situation, one of the TowBoatUS Captains leapt aboard the abandoned sailboat, confirming the haunting reality—the vessel was indeed unoccupied, afloat in the vast expanse, silently bearing witness to an unseen tragedy.
The urgency of the situation prompted immediate search efforts by the Assist Ventura, initiating meticulous patterns amidst the waiting for additional resources. Nearly two and a half painstaking hours into the search, the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol Officers made a somber discovery—a male figure, identified later as Jimmy Price, found lifeless in the waters off the Santa Barbara coast.
The circumstances leading to this distressing incident remain veiled in uncertainty, withholding vital details that might shed light on the events that transpired before Jimmy Price’s tragic overboard. The mysterious narrative surrounding his untimely demise lingers, prompting questions that await answers, leaving a community with a palpable sense of loss and an unsettling sense of the unknown.
The Santa Barbara Harbor, once a haven of tranquility, bears witness to a somber chapter—a reminder of the unpredictability of life and the unsettling mysteries that occasionally unfurl upon its serene waters. Jimmy Price’s unfortunate fate serves as a poignant reminder of the fragility of existence, etching a solemn moment in the collective consciousness of those touched by this unforeseen tragedy.
