MENDOCINO, California (6 June 2008) — A man who had been diving for abalone off the Mendocino Coast Thursday morning became the third person to die this year on the North Coast while seeking out the prized mollusks. No one saw what happened to the 65-year-old Sacramento-area man and the cause of his death has not been determined, said Mendocino County Sheriff's Deputy Coroner Shannon Barney. "We're not sure if it was cardiac related or a drowning," he said. The man's identity is being withheld pending notification of his family, Barney said. The man was seen floating in the ocean near rocks in Arena Cove by his diving companion just after 10 a.m. The cove is southeast of Point Arena proper. The two men had been walking on rocks, making their way back to the parking lot, when they lost sight of each other, Barney said. The companion spotted the body in the water when he rounded a bend in the cove, he said. | 
