A missing pilot whose plane crashed Sunday evening off El Capitan State Beach has yet to be found, and the U.S. Coast Guard and the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue Team suspended their search late Monday afternoon.

Dr. Stephen Birch, 61, of Goleta, an orthopedic surgeon and a partner in Peus Smith Birch Kahmann & Gallivan, 2324 Bath St., had decades of flying experience and authorities said he was the only occupant in the single-engine plane when it disappeared from radar about 5:30 p.m. Sunday. The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.

Weather conditions were clear and calm at the time of the crash.

Debris from the plane was quickly located a few miles west of El Capitan Beach, but closing darkness forced authorities to call off their search Sunday night. They resumed their efforts at dawn Monday.

— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com.