Orange County sheriff's divers on Saturday night suspended the search for a man in his 60s who went missing on Irvine Lake in Silverado after he fell off a pontoon boat while fishing with a friend.
The water offered zero visibility, officials said. Divers planned to resume the search at sunrise.
Authorities were notified about 5:45 p.m. Saturday that the man, who was not wearing a life jacket, had gone overboard and could not be found, said Capt. William Lackey of the Orange County Fire Authority.
The man's companion told rescuers he heard a splash at the back of the boat and got pulled into the water while trying to help his friend, but neither could swim very well, Lackey said.
The friend grabbed the boat's anchor line, but the man who first fell overboard went under, according to the captain.
There were life jackets aboard the boat, but neither man was wearing one, Lackey said.
Fire authority personnel and sheriff's deputies searched for the man on the water and from the air and a sheriff's dive team was sent to assist, Lackey said.
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Pontoon boats leaving the dock at Irvine Lake on Saturday night were loaded with sonar equipment and a five-person dive team.
"The area they'll be searching is about 30 feet deep, water visibility was about 4 feet when the sun was still up, so it's going to be even more obscure now," said Lackey said.
"Go out on a day of fishing and hope to come home with fish and you have this tragedy," said Cassandra Walker, who watched the rescue effort from shore.
