Coast Guard Suspends Bay Search for 2 Men

OAKLAND —  As a search for two men who leaped into San Francisco Bay during a Valentine’s Day cruise remained indefinitely suspended Sunday, those who knew one of the men--a security guard who jumped in trying to save a Georgia tourist--portrayed him as a humble hero.

It didn’t surprise friends and family that would-be rescuer Ricardo Ortega Jr., 28, attempted to save Tavaris Willis, a 20-year-old resident of Marietta, Ga., who reportedly jumped from the cruise ship’s third deck.

“I’m just surprised he’s not home,” said Ortega’s wife, Willa, who on Sunday was waiting for any news in the couple’s San Francisco home.

A U.S. Army veteran and a certified lifeguard, Ortega was a strong swimmer, his wife said. She said he had swum in San Francisco Bay and while he was stationed in Germany.

It was about 2 a.m. Saturday when Willis, without warning, leaped off the Jack London Commodore during a private party attended by 500 people.

No one, even the friends who were with him, knows why Willis jumped into the bay, which is cold enough to kill someone within four to six hours. He was not distraught and had not been drinking, his friends said.

However, Ortega’s best friend, Sean Ravenscraft, said party-goers had complained that Willis was unruly and was accosting people and telling them he was the devil.

Ravenscraft, who also was working on the boat, said of Ortega: “He never had the desire to be a hero. He just had a big heart and cared about people and didn’t want to see people get hurt.”

The U.S. Coast Guard searched the bay until dusk Saturday but said it would not resume unless it received new information.