The Santa Barbara county coroner’s office has positively identified the body found yesterday floating in Shark’s Cove near Montecito as 24-year-old Daniel Zembrosky, the kayaker who went missing at sea during windy weather last month.
According to the Sheriff’s Department, Zembrosky went missing on Sunday, January 25, when he and a 25-year-old friend were kayaking off the coast of Montecito. When their two-man kayak began taking on water, they both tried to swim to shore. Only Zembrosky’s friend made it, so he hurried home to his father’s house in Montecito to call 911. A massive search ensued for to days, involved aircraft and ocean crews, but was called off when no one was found.
On February 4, a citizen at Lookout Park in Summerland saw a body floating in the water, and called the authorities. They were eventually able to recover the body in Shark’s Cove. The physical decomposition did not allow immediate identification, but the coroner was able to identify the body through fingerprints.
There are no signs of foul play, but the coroner has not released the official cause of death since toxicology tests are pending.