Authorities identify body found in waters near Angel Island as missing S.F. man
By HANNAH BEAUSANG
hbeausang@thearknewspaper.com
Updated at 3:30 p.m.
TIBURON (Sept. 8, 2015) — A body found this afternoon in Ayala Cove off Angel Island has been identified as Wouter Van Lier, a 42-year-old San Francisco man who had been missing since early Monday morning, authorities said.
After a two-day, multiagency search effort, Van Lier’s body was discovered about 11:30 a.m. in the water underneath the sailboat where he was last seen, according to Tiburon Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Mike Ayers.
The coroner’s division of the Marin County Sheriff’s Office has taken over the investigation. An official cause of death has not yet been released, and the coroner could not immediately be reached for a comment on the status of the investigation.
Tiburon police Officer Josh Small, who was involved in the search, said there’s no evidence that points to foul play.
“We have no reason to believe this is anything other than an accident,” Small said.
Van Lier was last seen by his wife when he came to bed about 1 a.m. Monday on a boat docked at Angel Island, where he was camping with his wife and friends, according to Tiburon police spokeswoman Laurie Nilsen.
His wife noticed that he was gone about 6 a.m. and contacted authorities to report that he was missing a short time later, Nilsen said. The couple and two other friends had spent the night on the sailboat as part of a timeshare, Small said.
An 80-member search team including the Marin County Sheriff’s Office and its volunteer Search and Rescue unit, rescuers from Contra Costa and San Mateo counties, the U.S. Coast Guard, state park rangers, Tiburon police and the Southern Marin and Tiburon fire protection districts were unable to find Van Lier when they combed the island Monday, Nilsen said.
Teams began a more extensive search this morning, with about a dozen rescuers from Marin Search and Rescue and three dogs searching the island on foot and several divers from the Marin Sheriff’s Office looking in the surrounding waters, Nilsen said. Tiburon fire crews also helped out with search efforts, and aU.S. Coast Guard helicopter was also on standby, Nilsen said
The sheriff’s dive team was able to locate the body using a sonar device, Nilsen said. Divers weren’t initially able to find the body when they began to search about 8 p.m. Monday night because it was too dark, Nilsen said.
Check back for updates to this story.
