February 8, 2023 – The Monterey County Sheriff's Office reported that on January 28, 2023, at approximately 3:40 P.M., first responders from CalFire, California State Parks Lifeguards, and the Monterey County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to the area of Fan Shell Beach, in Pebble Beach.

A 9‐1‐1 call was received about a missing SCUBA diver. Four divers had entered the water, but the dive was quickly called off due to equipment issues. Three of the four divers made it to the shore, but the fourth diver was struggling in the surf about 100 meters offshore. The missing diver was hit by a large wave and did not resurface.

The U.S. Coast Guard responded to area to assist in searching for the missing diver. A Sheriff’s Office unmanned aerial drone was deployed to search the water and rocky shoreline. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter also arrived on scene to conduct a search of the area. After approximately two hours of searching the search was suspended due to darkness.

On January 29, 2023, at approximately 7:00 A.M., the Monterey County Sheriffs Dive Team responded to the area and conducted dive search operations. The U.S. Coast Guard also responded back to the scene and continued to conduct search operations by deploying a 47 Foot Surf Boat USCG Station Monterey and a MH‐60 Jayhawk Helicopter from USCG Station San Francisco. Two dive search operations were conducted by the Sheriff's divers, as well as six surface swimmer search operation. Due to the high surf and deteriorating weather and water conditions, the search was called off shortly after 12:00 P.M.

On February 3, 2023, at approximately 8:10 A.M., Sheriff’s Office Coroner Unit personnel responded to a report of human remains located on the northern end of Fanshell Beach. Coroner Division personnel identified the human remains as the missing diver and provided notification to the diver’s next of kin. The diver has been identified as Zachary Nelson, a 27‐year‐old resident of Newark, CA.

Source: Monterey County Sheriff's Office