For 11 hours on September 11, 2008, helicopters, boats
and divers from four agencies searched the waters of Laguna
Beach unsuccessfully for John Sung Park, 29, who went diving
with friends but never surfaced. It was believed he perished
underwater. But now investigators have announced that the
native of Buena Park, CA, was spotted in Los Angeles, and
they believe he faked his own death to avoid three arrest warrants
and a sentencing.
Police from Laguna Beach and Newport Beach, along
with the Coast Guard and the Orange County Sheriff’s
Department, began searching for Park when his two dive buddies
said they never saw him exit the water. When his body
wasn’t found, it was thought he had been trapped in one of
Laguna Beach’s underwater caves. Nearly $50,000 in resources
was spent looking for him.
But before he disappeared, Park had two arrest warrants
issued against him. One was an Orange County case where he
pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance, receiving
stolen property, forgery and second-degree burglary. He was
expected for sentencing in that case on September 15, four
days before he disappeared in the depths. The day before his
dive, he sold his Mercedes and two weeks later, he allegedly
showed up in L.A. at the home of the woman who bought the
car, demanding it back. During the altercation, he swiped the
car and ran down another woman as he fled. A $95,000 warrant
for his arrest has been issued. Keep an eye out for a black
Mercedes with license-plate number 5ZUA733.
This reminds us of a case we reported nearly two decades
ago when a diver faked his death off Florida, only to be found
years later working as an instructor in the Maldives.