Man Drowns In Crescent Cove

Claude Finney, 48, was with friends on a houseboat in Crescent Cove in the Virgin Basin yesterday when he jumped into the water for a swim. Finney had been treading water for about a minute when he called for help. By the time his friends began throwing life rings into the water, he’d slipped beneath the surface. Rangers were notified around 4:30 p.m. and responded with five rescue boats – two from Boulder Harbor, two from Echo Bay and one from Temple Bar. Las Vegas Metro PD provided a rescue helicopter. Surface and shoreline searches were fruitless, and operations were suspended at dusk. Weather conditions in the area had created a light chop, about one to one-and-a-half foot waves in open water. According to rangers, though, the water was relatively calm in the area where he was last seen.