Empty Kayak Mystery Solved, and other news
Monday March 24, 2025
(Kayak photo courtesy Harbor Patrol)
The Ventura County Harbor Patrol says the mystery of the empty kayak has been solved.
The kayak was found abandoned late Sunday night by a recreational fisherman at the detached breakwater at Channel Islands Harbor in Oxnard.
It contained fishing gear but no fisherman.
The Harbor Patrol, Fire Departments, Coast Guard, and Towboat U.S. conducted a search for the person who belonged to the kayak but it was suspended at midnight and resumed Monday morning.
But no sooner had they resumed the search Monday morning than the owner of the kayak made contact with the authorities and said he was OK.
He told them that Sunday night he had lost his paddle at the breakwater and swam to shore with plans to return after first light Monday morning to retrieve the kayak and his belongings.
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(Photo courtesy Vandenberg SFB)
Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County released some information about a Unite State Army missile test conducted last week at the base.
The test of what's known as the Army's Precision Strike Missile was tested last Wednesday morning at 7:30 AM at the base's western test range.
At the time it was the 11th launch of a rocket or missile at the base so far in 2025.
That number rose to an even dozen with the Thursday night SpaceX Falcon 9 launch of several spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office.
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A Santa Barbara County man has pleaded not guilty to a felony charge stemming from what the authorities say was an full blown professional grade yet highly illegal fireworks display in Ventura earlier this month.
The show allegedly put on by 44-year-old Dario Pantoja of Santa Maria attracted a crowd, and Ventura police, to Surfer's Point near the fairgrounds on the night of March 8th.
They say the fireworks display included the mortar style fireworks that are shot into the sky and are legal only when used by qualified and licensed professionals who've been given permits by government agencies to conduct fireworks shows.
Pantoja was arrested and charged with possession of destructive device and explosives on a public street or highway.
He remains free on bail and is due back in court in May.
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(Photo courtesy PHPD)
A Port Hueneme man with an extensive criminal history, including prior auto thefts, is due in court Tuesday to face charges that he allegedly stole another vehicle and then led police on a wild vehicle pursuit through two cities.
It happened early Sunday morning when officers spotted the maroon Hyundai Elantra in the area of Ventura and Pleasant Valley roads in Port Hueneme.
They determined it was a stolen vehicle and tried to conduct an enforcement stop but the driver refused to yield and that began the chase.
The pursuit traveled into Oxnard and the area of Pleasant Valley Road and Rose Avenue where the driver jumped out of the moving vehicle and ran.
As the vehicle rolled to a stop at the curb, the officers chased the suspect and ultimately located him hiding in the parking lot of an apartment complex.
They took 21-year-old Ruben Alfaro Garibay of Port Hueneme into custody and booked him into the Ventura County Jail for auto theft, evading the police, and driving on a suspended license.
Oh, and police say Garibay is currently on probation for auto theft and according to court and jail records has four prior convictions for auto theft and various other crimes.
He was also released from jail a week ago after the DA's office failed to file any charges in connection with another unknown case.
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(Photos courtesy Ventura Fire Dept)
A fire in a hillside home above Ventura High School Monday afternoon claimed the life of a cat.
The fire was reported around 2:18 PM in the 500 block of Briarwood Terrace.
When firefighters arrived they had heavy smoke and fire coming from a portion of the house.
The resident had managed to escape by climbing through a window.
Fire crews were able to make a quick knockdown on the fire but unfortunately one of the two cats that lived there perished in the fire.
The other cat was OK.
The resident suffered a minor injury climbing through the window.
The cause of the fire was under investigation.
