Body Of San Diego Fisherman Found Off Coast Of Mexico

SAN DIEGO, CA — The body of a missing San Diego fisherman and YouTube personality was found over the weekend in waters off the coast of Mexico, his family announced.

Mikey Rijavec, known for his YouTube channel SD Fish and Sips, was on a fishing trip off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, when he made a mayday call around 3 p.m. Nov. 11 from his solo skiff, according to a GoFundMe page that his brother launched to support search and rescue efforts.

Rijavec had engine issues with his boat, and while trying to fix the problem, the motor dislodged and caused the boat to flip, his brother, Gregory Rijavec, explained on GoFundMe.

"He was able to upright the skiff and begin paddling, but his skiff had taken on water," he wrote. "We know nothing about what happened to Mikey after that. The distress call was heard by local fishermen. The signal was weak, and the message was not clear, but it was obvious that he needed help."

Authorities from both the U.S. and Mexico joined the search and rescue efforts. Local boats and private planes hired by the family were also used in the search, according to the GoFundMe.

The search continued for four days, during which Rijavec's skiff was recovered, but ended on Saturday. Rijavec's body was found in the water Sunday near San Cristobal, his brother said in an update on GoFundMe, which surpassed the $40,000 fundraising goal.

"As difficult as it is to accept this, we are grateful that it provides us some closure," he wrote. "As we begin to process and reflect on what has happened over the last several days, it is clear what was at the core of the search for Mikey: love. Everyone poured everything into finding Mikey, because whether they knew him or not, they knew a son, a brother, a friend, a fisherman, a fellow human needed help."

Rijavec documented his fishing adventures on YouTube. His channel was created in 2014 and has more than 20,000 subscribers.

"This video is hitting hard in light of the newest update," YouTube channel We Got Some Live Actionwrote in a comment on one of Rijavec's videos. "Mikey showed us the limits of this sport and the joy it brings to all of us. We lost a great ambassador for the sport of fishing. You will live through each and every fishermen that followed you."

Rijavec primarily fished in San Diego waters but enjoyed traveling with his solo skiff off the coast of California up north to Oregon and down south to Baja California, Mexico, according to his YouTube page.

"Mikey was mindful and present every day, and that allowed him to live a longer life than can be measured on a calendar," his brother wrote. "His mission was to spread his positive energy and make every person he came in contact with better, and he did. Mikey prepared us to deal with this, and if we live by his example we will not only be OK, we will be better."