The body of the last missing victim in the Conception dive boat disaster was found Wednesday after more than a week of searching, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department said.
On Sept. 2, 34 of the 39 people on the vessel died when it caught fire and sank while anchored off the coast of Santa Cruz Island, about 25 miles offshore Santa Barbara.
The victims include 33 passengers and a crew member, who were all in the below-deck bunk area at the time of the fire. Five crew members survived.
Dive teams recovered the remains of 33 victims last week, and briefly stopped searching for the last one over the weekend due to rough weather.
“The Conception Incident Unified Command is relieved to report that search-and-recovery efforts today were successful in locating the last missing victim,” the department said in a statement on social media.
The Sheriff’s-Coroner’s Bureau has been using DNA testing to identify the victims, and had released 27 of the 34 names as of Tuesday.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.