25-year-old firefighter from Sacramento found dead after apparent drowning in San Diego

A 25-year old firefighter believed to have drowned at a San Diego-area beach Thursday has been identified as Caeden Laffan was a Sacramento native.

Laffan, a 2017 graduate of Christian Brothers High School, was with friends and family when he walked into the ocean at Pacific Beach about 200 yards south of Crystal Pier. None of the witnesses heard him struggle or cry for help.

Someone in the group called 911 after “they lost visual of him,” San Diego Fire-Rescue Lifeguard Lt. Rick Romero said. “No one ever saw him struggle or call for help. All of a sudden he was there and wasn’t there.”

Lifeguards, assisted by a Coast Guard helicopter, launched a search after being notified around 2 a.m. that the man had gone missing in the water. His body was found two hours later along the shoreline to the north of the pier, San Diego lifeguard officials said.

Romero said Laffan had been in town competing in an athletic event for firefighters. Lifeguards were told the man had been drinking before he went into the ocean, but it was unclear if that was a factor. He said the Medical Examiner’s Office will determine his cause of death.

Oakland Fire Department official Michael Hunt said in a news release that it appears Laffan drowned, but the investigation was ongoing.

Fire Chief Damon Covington described Laffan, who graduated from an Oakland fire academy in 2019, as an “enthusiastic” member of the department “with a bright future ahead of him.”

“We’re all heartbroken today after learning of this tragic event,” Covington said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to the entire Laffan family, and all who know him, worked with him, and loved him.”

Laffan’s father, Oakland fire Assistant Chief Sean Laffan, 42, died while on duty in 2020. Bay Area station KTVU reported at the time that the father had suffered a heart attack. Caeden Laffan told the station at the time, “I knew I wanted to be an Oakland firefighter because of my dad.”

The San Diego Union-Tribune contributed to this story.