Two vineyard workers were found drowned in an irrigation pond of a winery about five miles east of Lompoc on Thursday morning after they were reported missing by relatives the night before.

Investigators believe Ramon Cisneros Acosta, 42, and Rogelio Ruiz Reyes, 29, both of Lompoc, drowned accidentally in the pond at Clos Pepe Winery, Highway 246, sometime Wednesday night, a Santa Barbara County Sheriff's spokesman said Thursday.

A preliminary investigation suggested Acosta was in a small kayak cleaning a pump filtration system in the pond, said Sgt. Erik Raney. Acosta apparently submerged first and Reyes tried to rescue him but drowned in the process, Raney said.

A more thorough investigation is pending by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Among a litany of questions Cal OSHA investigators will look into is whether the work required two or more workers and whether they had been trained to do so, said agency spokesman Dean Fryer.

No other workers were on site because the vineyard is closed to the public until April 13 when its owners were set to return, said Diana Mikkelsen, an unofficial spokeswoman for the vineyard. Its owners were on vacation in Europe.

Mikkelsen said Acosta and Reyes were considered part of the vineyard's family and will be missed.

Advertisement

“The workers are the backbone of this vineyard,” she said.

Winemakers Wes and Chanda Hagen and vineyard owners Steve and Cathy Pepe are expected to return from Europe as soon as tonight.

Mikkelsen said she knew Acosta as a quiet and hard-working man. Acosta is believed to have been an employee of the vineyard for more than 13 years.

Reyes was much newer to the vineyard, she added.

Mikkelsen was still grappling with the question as to how Acosta, who was very knowledgeable of the land, drowned in the pond.

This was not his first time cleaning the pump, she added.

Mikkelsen said she couldn't have known what happened because she was in the vineyard house hidden behind a hill.

She said she hadn't notice anything suspicious until the men's relatives went to the vineyard.

The men hadn't returned home and their vehicles were still on site, she said. Their relatives reported them missing to Lompoc police Wednesday night.

Sheriff's deputies searched the vineyard in the night but found only a toolbox near the pond, she said.

Relatives feared the worst, she added, and spent the night at the vineyard waiting for a search dive team to return Thursday morning.

Raney said the men's bodies were found about 9 a.m.

Acosta was found about 5 feet under water and Reyes about 8 feet below, Raney said.

Investigators found a kayak on one end of the pond and a canoe on the other but no floating jackets, he said.

An autopsy of the bodies is pending but a date has not been confirmed.

Luis Ernesto Gomez can be reached at 739-2218, or lgomez@

santamariatimes.com

March 30, 2007