SCANNERS YET TO FIND BODIES IN LAKE.

Byline: Amy Raisin Staff Writer

CASTAIC - A Canadian company using specialized scanners located a debris field Thursday about 250 feet under the surface of Castaic Lake, but found no signs of the three men believed killed last week in a high-speed boating crash.

After attempts with less-sophisticated equipment failed to locate the bodies, Vancouver-based Kongsberg Simrad volunteered its high-tech Sonar Scan system to probe the bottom of the man-made lake.

``There have been hits with the scanner, like the steering wheel and wiring from the boat,'' said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department Deputy Dave Cervantes. ``The equipment is so sophisticated it can read the numbers from a license plate on the lake bottom.''

Steve Coulombe, owner of the boat manufacturing company High Torque Marine, was testing a prototype speedboat Jan. 11 when the vessel, reportedly traveling more than 80 mph, flipped and sank.

Still missing are Coulombe, 38, of Agua Dulce; HTM employee Nelson Roy Brinkman, 30; and 47-year-old Chuck Wiseman, a friend and customer of Coulombe's.

Lifeguards pulled the body of Ken Lane, 41, of La Canada Flintridge from the water shortly after they received word of the incident about 2 p.m. He was pronounced dead shortly after.

While the search continues indefinitely, Los Angeles County is footing the bill for the increasingly difficult search.

``The county of Los Angeles is absorbing the cost for this recovery mission,'' said Millie Jones, senior deputy for county Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. ``The first and foremost concern is to complete our mission. The supervisor and the county are committed to doing everything we can to assist the families.''

Jones did not have an estimate for how much the recovery has cost so far, but said the deadliest accident in the lake's nearly 30-year history warrants every county resource.

While Kongsberg Simrad volunteered its services, the county will pay for the expenses of its technicians, from travel to food and lodging, Jones said.

The Santa Clarita sheriff's station, which is leading the investigation, borrowed a remote-control vehicle from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department that it will use if the scanning device discovers what could be bodies.

``They set a tripod at the bottom of the lake and the Sonar Scan can search 360 degrees out, to about 200 feet,'' Cervantes said. ``If it sends back an image that may be a body, then they'll use the ROV to get a closer look.''

The Global Positioning System, the same satellite technology used in newer cars to pinpoint location, will be used if the equipment discovers a body - allowing the ROV to zero in on the location so divers can retrieve the body without wasting precious minutes at such dangerous depths.

Sheriff's officials, county lifeguards and independent search teams were expected to work into the night Thursday.

Cervantes said the recovery effort will resume today.