Man Arrested After Dinghy Capsizes

One man apparently swam to shore and a second was arrested on suspicion of drug use after spending almost two hours in the water outside Oxnard’s Channel Islands Harbor early Wednesday after their dinghy capsized, authorities said.

The rescue of Scott Warner, 27, of Oxnard by a fishing vessel about 12:15 a.m. triggered a land and sea search for his buddy that lasted until 5 a.m. and included Coast Guard and Ventura County Sheriff’s Department helicopters and vessels.

Oxnard police and firefighters, as well as the Harbor Patrol, scoured the shoreline searching for the missing man, identified as Steve Douglas of Oxnard. The search resumed at dawn before being suspended about 7:30 a.m.

Authorities said the pair were setting up allegedly illegal fishing lines when their 10-foot-long fiberglass craft capsized about 10:45 p.m. Douglas then told his friend that he was going to swim to shore.

Douglas wore a life jacket and was described as a surfer and strong swimmer familiar with local waters, Harbor Master Jack Peveler said. Seas were calm and conditions good throughout the search, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

Although authorities believe that Douglas made it to shore, that hasn’t been confirmed, Peveler said. Douglas was not at his Oxnard trailer when police checked, and the Coast Guard was treating his case Wednesday afternoon as an “active suspension” pending further developments.

Meanwhile, sheriff’s deputies arrested Warner, whom Peveler described as uncooperative, on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance and booked him into the County Jail in lieu of $5,000 bail.

Officers with the State Department of Fish and Game retrieved the suspected illegal fishing gear the pair left in the water.