Man wades into surf, dies at The Wedge

Alex Coolman

NEWPORT BEACH -- A Fullerton man dressed in a long white gown died at

The Wedge early Thursday morning after he waded into the water and

presumably drowned.

A Newport Beach Police officer spotted Quincy Lee Jones, 20, walking

into the surf at The Wedge just after 5:30 a.m. As the officer shouted

for him to stop, Jones moved deeper into the water, floating until a

large set of waves crashed over him.

Jones disappeared beneath the surface and his body was not recovered

until three hours later, said Lt. John Blauer, a spokesperson for the

Newport Beach Fire and Marine Department.

Large waves and strong currents made it difficult for lifeguards to

recover Jones’ body, which quickly sank below the surface. The surf

ranged from four to eight feet.

Blauer said lifeguards searched an area covering roughly a half-mile

of the beach before recovering Jones in 12 to 15 feet of water near the

main peak at The Wedge.

At the time of morning when Jones entered the water, lifeguards are

not yet posted on the beaches. However, Blauer said lifeguards and an

Orange County Sheriff’s Harbor Patrol fire boat responded immediately

when police reported that Jones had slipped beneath the waves.

It was the fifth death at the beach since May, but lifeguards said the

circumstances of Thursday’s events make it difficult to determine whether

the victim died accidentally or by suicide.

Fullerton police filed a missing persons report on Jones early

Thursday after being contacted by his worried relatives, said Sgt. Joe

Klein of the Fullerton Police Department.