Body found off Catalina may be missing sailor’s

A body found just off the coast of Catalina Island may be that of lost sailor William Eugene Ott, whose boat crashed last week into the jetty rocks at Newport Harbor, officials said Tuesday.

The body was spotted by passengers of a fishing boat around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday in the waters just off Avalon, the island’s main town, Orange County Sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said.

Authorities have been searching for Ott, 61, of Phoenix since Thursday, when his sailing boat crashed into the west jetty at the Wedge.

The day the boat crashed, harbor authorities issued a small-craft advisory because of winds up to 34 knots.

Although no one reported seeing anyone aboard the 30-foot boat as it sank, rescue workers searched the debris for hours Thursday and Friday, having to call it off each time due to hazardous weather conditions in the water. One diver was injured during the search.

A plastic bag containing prescription bottles was found floating near the wreckage and led authorities to identify Ott as the owner of the boat, officials said.

Ott left Cabrillo Marina in San Pedro on April 17 and headed for the Santa Barbara Islands, his wife told authorities last week.

“It is conceivable that he left the Cabrillo Marina. And if, for whatever reason, [he] fell off the boat,” he could have ended up at Catalina, Amormino said. And his boat — if on autopilot — could have easily swung south and ended up in Newport Beach.

Investigators from the Los Angeles County coroner’s office flew to the island Tuesday afternoon to speak with witnesses and to study the area where the body was found, said Capt. Ed Winter of the L.A. County coroner’s office.

“We hope to have an I.D. on the body soon,” Winter said, although it depends on the condition of body.

Due to cold water, it is possible that the body decomposed only slightly, Amormino said.