A fisherman believed to have abandoned his grounded boat at San Francisco’s Ocean Beach early Monday has an outstanding warrant out of Santa Clara County, a sheriff’s spokesman said today.
Timothy Lybrand was on board a 37-foot fishing boat named “Paloma” that ran aground near Seal Rock in San Francisco around 3:30 a.m. Monday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Coast Guard and San Francisco fire crews searched for Lybrand in an 18-square-mile area after he had contacted a Good Samaritan and said he intended to swim to shore, Coast Guard Lt. Theo Vaughan said.
Crews suspended their search for him around noon Monday and he has not been found as of this afternoon.
Santa Clara County sheriff’s Sgt. Kurtis Stenderup said today that Lybrand has a warrant from May 2012 for a 2010 drug possession arrest for which he failed to appear in court.
Lybrand is wanted on a $75,000 warrant, Stenderup said.
Coast Guard crews will resume efforts to pull the abandoned fishing boat to shore around 5 p.m. today, Vaughan said.
He said crews are “focusing efforts on addressing the vessel and the pollution threat on board.”
He said diesel fuel on the boat needs to be removed. The boat is in the water near where Golden Gate Park meets the Great Highway.
Crews are working to remove the vessel with assistance from the National Park Service.
There was a smell of gas coming from the wreckage Monday but there was no indication of an oil spill, according to the Coast Guard.
Sasha Lekach, Bay City News
