Two dive partners who were involved in a struggle of their own with Monastery Beach’s notoriously dangerous undertow reportedly did not see what chain of events led to Edward Diaz of Las Vegas being found floating face down and unconscious in the water.
Nearly 90 minutes after Diaz was pulled from the water, he was pronounced dead at Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula. He was 39.
Diaz, described as a master diver who used to live in the Monterey area, worked at Colorado River Divers dive shop in Las Vegas, said Jay Gundy, the store’s owner. Gundy declined to comment further.
The cause of death has not been determined, said State Parks spokesman Mike McMenamy.
The ocean conditions at Monastery Beach, about a mile south of the Carmel River Lagoon, were "super dangerous," said State Parks lifeguard Erik Larson.
The ocean swell was more than 11 feet around the time of the incident, said Steve Anderson, meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Monterey office.
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