Boat Fire: Students, Families Who Died Mourned In Santa Cruz

SANTA CRUZ, CA — The majority of victims who died in Monday's tragic boat fire off the California coast are from Santa Cruz, San Jose and the Bay Area, it was announced Tuesday by Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.

Although the victims' identities have not been released, at least one female victim, Kristina Finstad, is said to be from Santa Cruz, according to the city of Santa Cruz.

"The horrific incident is being felt deeply by our community," Santa Cruz Mayor Martine Watkins said in a statement. "We are in disbelief at what has happened and our hearts go out to the families of all of those who are waiting for news on their loved ones."

Finstad is a former Santa Cruz city employee who worked in its Water Department from 2005 to 2015.

Some of the other victims on board were students and parents of Pacific Collegiate School, a charter school in Santa Cruz that serves grades 7-12.

"Pacific Collegiate School is saddened by the tragic sinking of the diving vessel Conception over the weekend. While this was not a school sponsored trip, our hearts and thoughts are with the families of the victims and those yet missing, particularly those of our students and parents on board. Thank you to the Santa Cruz community and others who have reached out to us to offer condolences and support for our school. ...," a statement on the school's website read.

"Right now, our priority as a school community is to support our students, staff, and families in the wake of this tragedy. We have been working closely with the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and Santa Cruz County Mental Health Services to activate the School Emergency Response Protocol (SERP) in order to provide much needed resources and a network of additional support to our school community," the statement continued. "Please respect our need to gather as a school community, to respond privately, and to care for our students and families."

A recorded message on the school's main telephone line said much the same.

The remains of 20 victims were recovered during underwater searches around the wreckage of a commercial boat that caught fire early on Labor Day off the coast of Santa Barbara County, authorities said Tuesday.

Search teams with the U.S. Coast Guard, National Park Service and sheriff's offices from Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and San Luis Obispo counties aided in recovering the bodies of 11 females and nine males from the wreckage, Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said during a news
conference Tuesday.

The Coast Guard responded to the fire aboard the 75-foot boat named "Conception" based out of Santa Barbara while it was ablaze at about 3:30 a.m. Monday near Santa Cruz Island, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Office. The boat sank by about 7:20 a.m.

Five survivors were rescued from the boat, which had carried 39 people.

"There were several other victims that were seen by the divers, somewhere between four and six, that are still within the wreckage, but due to the positioning of the boat they were unable to be recovered before nightfall," Brown said. "(Tuesday), efforts will be made to stabilize the boat so that divers can safely enter it, search it and recover additional victims."

Brown said divers identified a search field of about a half-mile in size, and will continue their search in and around the sunken boat.

Officials contacted 30 of the victims' families, but were still waiting to hear from four families.

Coast Guard Capt. Monica Rochester said her office suspended its search efforts at about 9:40 a.m. Tuesday.

"We have suspended the search efforts due to no additional individuals having been witnessed entering the water," Rochester said. "Our last aircraft over a flight this morning has revealed that no additional signs of distress or debris has been witnessed."

She said the Coast Guard conducted seven missions with three helicopter crews to search a 160-mile area around the wreckage.

—Bay City News contributed to this report.