Owner of Santa Cruz adventure company missing after deadly boat fire

Kristy Finstad, a Santa Cruz marine biologist and co-owner of Worldwide Diving Adventures, the group which chartered the Conception, died in the dive boat fire. Kristy Finstad, a Santa Cruz marine biologist and co-owner of Worldwide Diving Adventures, the group which chartered the Conception, died in the dive boat fire. Photo: Facebook Photo: Facebook Image 1 of / 37 Caption Close Owner of Santa Cruz adventure company missing after deadly boat fire 1 / 37 Back to Gallery

A Santa Cruz marine biologist and diving instructor was on board a dive boat that went up in flames early Monday near an island off the Southern California coast, killing at least 25 people and leaving nine missing.

Kristy Finstad is the co-owner of Worldwide Diving Adventures, the company that chartered the dive boat Conception for a Labor Day weekend recreational scuba-diving trip around Channel Islands National Park.

Finstad's brother, Brett Harmeling of Houston, posted a message on Facebook on Monday morning, writing, "Please pray for my sister Kristy!! She was leading a dive trip on this boat."

On Tuesday morning, Harmeling shared, "Thank You ALL for your unconditional love and support during this incredibly tragic time. My family and I truly appreciate it. No final word on my sister Kristy; however, it is likely she has transitioned to be with the good Lord."

Finstad operates the business with her husband, Dan Chua, but the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported Chua was "leading another dive trip off of Costa Rica when the fire happened in Southern California."

Worldwide Diving Adventures has been taking divers on expeditions since the 1970s, according to its website.

ALSO: At least 25 confirmed dead in boat fire in California

The Conception was anchored in Platt's Harbor off Santa Cruz Island when it became fully engulfed in flames as 30 passengers slept below deck.

"You couldn't ask for a worse situation," Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown said at a Monday news conference.

Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Matthew Kroll says at least 25 people died and the search will continue through the night for the nine others still missing. He says five others have been found but not recovered, due to unsafe conditions under the boat, which sank in about 60 feet (18 meters) of water. Kroll that says these numbers are based on initial reports and authorities are awaiting final counts from the autopsies.

Five crew members sleeping on the top deck jumped off and took a dinghy to safety. Two had minor injuries.

Meanwhile, authorities opened a family assistance center where counseling was being provided to relatives of those onboard. None of their names were immediately released.

The missing and dead were among 39 passengers and crew who had departed Santa Barbara's Channel Islands Harbor on Saturday. The fire ignited at about 3 a.m. as the boat was anchored off Santa Cruz Island, about 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles. The crew appeared to quickly call for help.

"The call was garbled, it was not that clear, but we were able to get some information out of it to send vessels," said Coast Guard Petty Officer Mark Barney.

Capt. Paul Amaral of the vessel assistance company TowBoatUS also launched a fast boat from Ventura Harbor, but it was some 30 miles (48 kilometers) away. By the time it got there around 5 a.m. a Coast Guard helicopter and a fireboat were on scene.

Amaral said he first searched the water and shoreline, then turned back to the Conception, which was adrift and going aground. He attached a line and pulled it into deeper water where the fireboats could reach.

"We launched that boat knowing that the vessel was on fire, lots of people aboard," he told The Associated Press.

The five crew members, meanwhile, had taken their dingy to a private fishing boat, The Grape Escape, that was anchored near the north shore of Santa Cruz Island.

That boat's owners, Bob and Shirley Hansen, told The New York Times they were asleep when they heard pounding on the side of their 60-foot (18-meter) vessel about 3:30 a.m. and discovered the frightened crew members.

"When we looked out, the other boat was totally engulfed in flames, from stem to stern," Hansen said. "I could see the fire coming through holes on the side of the boat. There were these explosions every few beats. You can't prepare yourself for that. It was horrendous."

Hansen said two of the crew members went back toward the Conception looking for survivors but found no one.

Four bodies had injuries consistent with drowning, Kroll said.

It wasn't immediately clear when the other bodies that have been found might be retrieved or when divers could search the boat for others.

"It's upside down in relatively shallow water with receding tides that are moving it around," Brown said. Investigators have not yet determined a cause for the fire.

The 75-foot Conception, based in Santa Barbara Harbor on the mainland, was owned by Santa Barbara-based Truth Aquatics, founded in 1974. A memorial outside Truth Aquatics in the Santa Barbara Harbor grew Monday night as mourners came to pay their respects.

Coast Guard records show all safety violations from the last five years were quickly addressed by the boat's owners. Some safety violations were related to fire safety. A 2016 inspection resulted in owners replacing the heat detector in the galley and one in 2014 cited a leaky fire hose.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.