Woman Drowns Near Friend’s Boat

LAGUNA BEACH — A Palm Springs woman drowned Saturday night while swimming off her friend’s disabled boat, sheriff’s deputies reported.

Torraine Gormley, 32, and Stephen Baird, 42, both of Palm Springs, were returning to Dana Point after a trip to Newport Harbor when Baird’s boat developed engine trouble about 100 yards off Scotchman’s Cove, just north of Laguna Beach, Lt. Bill Leonard said Sunday.

While Baird tried to repair the engine, Gormley put on a life jacket and went for a swim at about 7:45 p.m., Leonard said. She stayed in contact with Baird, visually and vocally, until darkness fell, and then Baird realized he had drifted into the surf line, Leonard said.

Baird’s boat eventually went aground. When he was unable to find Gormley on shore, he contacted a local security guard and the sheriff’s harbor patrol, Leonard said. Deputies who searched for Gormley in a boat found her life jacket.

A sheriff’s helicopter later located Gormley, who was taken to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, where attempts to revive her were unsuccessful, Leonard said.