The U.S. Coast Guard recovered three bodies in the Pacific Ocean on Sunday after a small plane the trio were in crashed off Monterey, California, on Saturday night.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Unit identified the deceased on Sunday as California residents Steve Eugene Clatterbuck, 60, of Salinas; James Vincent, 36, of Monterey; and Jamie Lee Tabscott, 44, also of Monterey.
The Coast Guard said in a statement that a boat-based rescue team from the city of Monterey that was helping with search and recovery efforts found the first of the three unresponsive in the area of the crash at 3:01 a.m. Sunday.
A private dive team helped the Monterey Fire Department crews find the other two bodies at 6:31 a.m. and 9:08 a.m. in the downed fuselage of the plane, the Coast Guard said.
The agency received a notification at around 10:55 p.m. Saturday that a twin-engine Beechcraft with three people aboard crashed approximately 300 yards away from the Point Pinos Lighthouse, which is in the city of Pacific Grove. The aircraft originally took off from San Carlos Airport on the southern end of the San Francisco Bay.
“Station Monterey launched a 29-foot Response Boat-Small crew, which arrived on scene approximately 15 minutes after notification,” the Coast Guard said in a news release. “Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Francisco also coordinated the launch of an Air Station San Francisco MH-65 Dolphin helicopter air crew.”
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the crash, it said in a post on X. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
The Monterey County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Unit said family of the deceased asked for privacy.
“The family and friends of the deceased have expressed that they wish to extend their gratitude for the outpouring of support from the community,” it said.
Meriam Bouarrouj
Dennis Romero contributed.