Still no sign of man who fell into ocean

The search continues this week for a 52-year-old Bay Area man who was lost in the surf after falling from the Mendocino Headlands last weekend.

But heavy surf has hampered efforts to put divers in the water to look for the man, whose name will not be released formally until his body has been recovered, Mendocino county authorities said.

The man was visiting Mendocino Headlands State Park on Saturday when he fell from a cliff and disappeared in heavy surf, officials said.

Choppy conditions have interfered with search efforts since.

Search and rescue divers launched an expedition Tuesday when it appeared high waves that had persisted for several days had begun to diminish, Mendocino County sheriff’s Lt. Rusty Noe said.

But the surf still proved too rough, he said Wednesday.

“They gave it a good shot but they were too busy fighting the elements,” Noe said.

“Last report I got, it’s still upside down. The first window of opportunity is tomorrow,” he said.

A shoreline and bluff-top search is continuing, but basically “we’re just sort of in a holding pattern,” Noe said.