Updated 10/31/2007—>27 year old, Husband, & Father of 3 Drowned
October 24, 2007 by Marenda
Filed under local news
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Yesterday afternoon I received a call requesting prayer for my cousin. There were no details available at the time I was told that her husband had jumped off a pier and drowned while they were out scattering her mothers ashes.
I flipped through the news but the only news that made the news was fires. I looked online and found nothing to explain why a young man would jump from a pier. This morning I came across this article from the Press Telegram which does its best to explain, but I am still shocked and baffled.
While my cousin and I are 1st cousins but seemingly more like distant cousins, my heart goes out to her and her children. I am not sure if there is or will be any type of support fund type thing set up for her and her children, but I know an outpouring of love and support for her (not just financial) is needed. Please keep her (Shontae Rabb) and her family in your thoughts and prayers.
A Belmont Pier tragedy: Fisherman drowns in bid to rescue man, who remains missing after leap.
A team of divers searched for the first man for more than five hours on Tuesday evening before calling off the search until this morning, said Long Beach Fire Department Spokesman Will Nash.
The first to go into the water at about 1:30 p.m. was 27-year-old Melvin Monta Rabb of Long Beach, who was with family members to spread his mother-in-law’s ashes on what would have been her 31st wedding anniversary, family members said.
Nash said a local fisherman, who is a regular at the pier, saw Rabb go in and jumped in after him.
The fisherman’s body was found and pulled from the water at 3:22 p.m. Rescuers found his body about 50 feet south of the pier, Nash said.
Robert Allen, Rabb’s father-in-law, said Rabb had been drinking and was “in kind of a crazy mood” and wanted to go swimming.
He said Rabb and his mother-in-law, Candy Marie Allen, were close. She died three years ago from cirrhosis of the liver.
According to family members, Rabb, the father of three young children, tried to jump and they pulled him back twice. He then took his shoes off, went to the rail on the south side of the pier, hung on for a moment and let go.
The last thing he said was, “I’ll see you at the shore,” according to family.
Rabb dog paddled for a few minutes against the current before going under, his family said.
“He thought he could swim from the pier to the shore,” said Rabb’s wife of five years, 27-year-old Shontae Rabb. “He kept saying, `I can swim.”‘
Rabb’s wife said he is a good swimmer who underestimated the strength of the water. He is a Wilson High graduate who worked with his wife at a catering company, SMG, at the Long Beach Convention Center.
Greg Spohn, who runs Alfredo’s Bait and Tackle Shop at the end of the pier, saw the two men jump into the water and immediately called the Fire Department.
The fisherman tried to hold Rabb up, but the two kept going under, he said. The fisherman finally let go of Rabb and tried to swim back to the shore himself but went under in a few minutes.
The whole incident lasted no longer than five or 10 minutes, Spohn said.
“I was going to try to throw them a buoy,” he said. “But with the way the wind was going, it never would have made it.”
The fisherman’s identity was not immediately available. The coroner’s office was called to the scene.
Erika Allen, Rabb’s sister-in-law, said the fisherman “died trying to save my brother.”
Nash said three harbor patrol boats and about 16 divers took part in the search, using sonar in a 50- to 60-foot radius south of the pier.
The search for Rabb was called off at about 7:30 p.m. due to diver fatigue, said Nash. The search will continue at daybreak today.
As the sun set Tuesday, about 20 family members were gathered at the pier. Rabb’s children, ages 10, 7 and 5, were staying with a relative.
“He went to be with his mother-in-law. Today was his calling,” Robert Allen said. “I’ve got an anniversary date and now another date to add to this.”
Kelly Puente can be reached at kelly.puente@presstelegram.com or at (562) 499-1305.
Fisherman had hero’s heart
Families tell of man who lost his life trying to save another.
By Kelly Puente, Staff writer Press Telegram
LONG BEACH - Fisherman Shann Deon Day was the type of man who didn’t hesitate when he saw another man drowning.
Day, a 36-year-old Long Beach resident, was fishing off Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier at about 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday when he saw Melvin Monta Rabb jump in the water in an attempt to swim to the shore. Day didn’t even remove his shoes before he dove in after him, witnesses said.
But soon, both men were struggling against the current. Day struggled to hold up the 27-year-old Rabb and tried to pull him toward the shore. Within minutes both men had gone under.
Rescuers pulled Day’s body from the water at 3:22 p.m., about 50 feet south of the pier, said Long Beach Fire Department Spokesman Will Nash.
A team of 12 divers and three life guard boats continued to search for Rabb on Tuesday night and Wednesday before officially calling off the search at about 1:15 p.m. due to the difficult visibility, said Capt. Paul Wawrzynski.
“At this point, we’re just going to let nature take its course,” he said.
Rabb, a Long Beach resident and father of three, was with his family at the pier to spread his mother-in-law’s ashes on what would have been her 31st wedding anniversary, family said.
Robert Allen, Rabb’s father-in-law, said Rabb had been drinking and was “in kind of a crazy mood” and wanted to go swimming.
“He thought he could swim from the pier to the shore,” said Rabb’s wife of five years, 27-year-old Shontae. “He kept saying, ‘I can swim.”‘
Local fisherman at the pier, where Day fished about five days a week, weren’t surprised to hear about his heroic act.
“That’s just the kind of man he was,” said Long Beach resident Tim Bowling, 58, who fished with Day every week for more than six years. “Shann was a very well-liked and respected man.”
Fishermen described Day as a quiet man who would bring extra bait and was always willing to help others with hooking lines and pulling up fish.
“If you didn’t know how to fish he’d get you started,” said fisherman Mike, who did not give his last name. “Everyone knew him down here.”
Day, a father of seven, grew up in Compton and worked as a carpenter and contractor. But fishing was his true passion, family said.
“He lived to fish in Long Beach,” said his brother, Obie Lee Day III, 37, who was shocked to hear that his brother had drowned.
Day was always a good swimmer and had worked as a junior lifeguard in Watts, he said.
“I didn’t believe it when I heard it,” he said. “And it’s still hard to believe. But knowing that my brother gave his life to save someone, I can say that my heart has been lifted.”
Day’s father also died at the age of 36, his brother said.
“We all know where he’s going, to reside with father,” said his sister, 38-year-old Mechelle Hooper in a statement. “It was not shocking to us that he died this way because he was just that type of man. You could always count on him.”
Day’s seven children were in Fontana with their mother Maria Torres, family said.
The families of Rabb and Day came together at the pier on Wednesday afternoon, where Rabb’s family was still watching the rescue boats. Rabb’s wife, Shontae, and Day’s mother, Dorothy Maxie, embraced each other and cried.
“(Day) is an angel,” said Rabb’s sister 18-year-old Danisha Rabb. “He tried to save my brother.”
Don Maxie, Day’s stepfather, said the family was relieved to hear that he had not died from violence.
“He died trying to save someone,” Maxie said. “And he died in the place he loved the most. What a way to go.”
The family of Shann Deon Day has set up a fund to cover his funeral expenses. For more information on where to donate, contact Mechelle or Renee at (562) 436-1123.
Divers recover pier drowning victim’s body
LONG BEACH - Divers recovered the body of a Long Beach man on Saturday who had jumped off Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier earlier in the week.
Melvin Monte Rabb, 27, drowned on Tuesday, and a nearby fisherman, 36-year-old Shann Deon Day of Long Beach, drowned trying to save Rabb.
While Day’s body was recovered the same day, Rabb’s body was not found until about 1:45 p.m. Saturday during divers’ third search efforts, said Sgt. Steve Smock of the Long Beach Police dive team.
With the help of the Los Angeles County Emergency Services Detail dive team’s sonar device, a Long Beach lifeguard dive team was able to find the body within four hours, Smock said.
The body was lying in about 20 feet of water, about 40 feet east of the Belmont Pier and about 200 yards from shore.
Both sides of the pier had been closed this week during the search, Smock said.
Hanna Chu can be reached at hanna.chu@presstelegram.com or at (562) 499-1476.
Rabb Family Planning Services
Now that the body has been recovered the widow of Melvin Rabb and mother of his 3 children, faces planning the funeral and covering the expenses (estimated at $4000). You can send support and/or donations to:
Shontae Allen Rabb
PO BOX 16102
Long Beach, CA 90806
Melvin M. Rabb Funeral
Tuesday at 11am Colonial Mortuary 638 Atlantic Ave Long Beach CA
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