Off-duty LAFD firefighter presumed dead after going missing while diving in Long Beach

LONG BEACH, Calif. - An off-duty Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter is presumed dead nearly a full day after he went missing while freediving off the coast of Long Beach Wednesday night, authorities said. 

Officials pivoted from search and rescue efforts to a search and recovery mission by Thursday evening. On Friday night, the Long Beach Police Department said that they had ended recovery efforts, and that the firefighter, identified as 29-year-old Connor Lees, was presumed lost at sea.

Authorities said that Lees was one of four men on a private boat near Pier F Avenue Wednesday night to go freediving, which is a type of diving that doesn't require scuba gear.

Three of the men entered the water just before 10 p.m. — one was driving the boat — and a short time later, only two resurfaced. They contacted authorities and within 20 minutes, search efforts began. 

At a press conference Wednesday evening, LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley identified the missing man as an off-duty firefighter. Crowley said that he had been with the department for six years with an active fire department in LA. 

Search crews said that low visibility, as little as just two or three feet, contributed to the difficult search and that it was "complex."