Newbury Park Man, 51, Found Dead in His Pool

A 51-year-old Newbury Park man was found Tuesday floating face down in his backyard swimming pool and was later pronounced dead after medical staff failed to revive him, authorities said.

Steve Hale died at 7 p.m., three hours after he was found in the swimming pool at his home at 3804 Calle Posadas.

As of 9 p.m., authorities did not know the cause of Hale’s death but said it appeared there were some “suspicious circumstances” surrounding the incident, Sheriff’s Sgt. Dave Paige said.

Ventura County sheriff’s deputies received a 911 call about 4 p.m., apparently after a little girl saw the body floating in the pool, neighbors said. By 4:30, deputies and paramedics were at the scene trying to revive Hale. He was then taken to Los Robles Regional Medical Center.

According to neighbors, Hale lived in the house with his wife, who apparently was at work when the incident happened. The couple lived alone in the house and their only son lives in Colorado.

Neighbors also said that Hale had suffered a stroke about two years ago and was no longer working. Often they would see him walking and working in the yard.

Hale’s wife, who authorities did not identify, arrived at the scene about 5:30 p.m. She had not been notified and immediately walked to the officers asking, “Whose house, whose house?” She was taken away by officials.

Kelly David is a Times correspondent and Christina Lima is a staff writer.