On Wednesday, May 1, at approximately 2:36 p.m. it was reported to 9-1-1 a surfer was possibly washed out to sea within the Point Reyes National Seashore at Drakes Beach.
The surfer was last seen at 10:00 a.m. and a surfboard, later determined to belong to the missing surfer washed ashore at Drakes Beach at approximately 1 p.m.
First responders included the Point Reyes National Seashore (U.S. National Park Service); United States Coast Guard (USCG); Marin County Fire Department; Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Helicopter Henry-One; Marin County Sheriff’s Office Deputies and Marin County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue (SAR) Team.
They began began a search by land and sea. At approximately 5:33 p.m. a body was located floating in the ocean waters approximately 2.5 miles northwest of the Drakes Beach Parking area. The body was recovered by U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter. At 5:35 p.m. the body was transported via air to an alternate location and the death investigation began.
A forensic postmortem examination with routine toxicology testing was completed on Friday, May 3, 2024 and the Marin County Sheriff’s Department identified the dead man as Darren Michael Smith, 55, from Fairfax, CA.
Smith had been recently arrested and was facing filed criminal charges.
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