A kite-boarder who was rescued from the ocean off Santa Barbara last week and taken to the hospital in critical condition subsequently passed away, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office.
Adam Brown, 61, of Santa Barbara suffered some sort of medical emergency while in the water off Leadbetter Beach Thursday afternoon, according to the Santa Barbara City Fire Department.
He was found unresponsive in the water about 3/4 of a mile offshore, fire officials said.
Other kite-boarders hailed down the Condor Express whale-watching boat, which was in the area, and Brown was brought onto the vessel.
Personnel on board alerted the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol, and immediately began CPR and used an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) to try and revive him while the boat headed back to shore.
Firefighters and an AMR ambulance were waiting at the dock, and Brown was taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in critical condition.
Determination of the cause and manner of death by the sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau were pending toxicology tests, according to Raquel Zick, sheriff’s public information officer.
A paddle-out memorial for Brown reportedly is scheduled for Sunday, April 24, at Leadbetter Beach.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.