The police are still piecing together the story, but they know Attaie must have fallen in some time after 11 a.m., because his friend has a digital photo of Attaie from around that time. After Attaie fell in, the friend apparently tried to get help from other tourists, but the tourists thought he was drunk or lying and pushed him away. At that point, the friend became "uncommunicative," and went home, where his roommates managed to figure out what happened. The friend is on a suicide watch, and Attaie's family say the two men were close and they wouldn't suspect foul play.
Unfortunately, no one notified the Coast Guard or the federal Park Police (who have jurisdiction over Sutro Baths because it's part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area) until late Thursday night -- when Attaie's father called the Coast Guard to request an update on the search and independent searchers called to report finding nothing -- only to find that that was the first the authorities had heard of it. Apparently everyone thought someone else had called the police.
Because it was so late, the Coast Guard and the Park Police couldn't start their search until this morning. They've searched all day but found nothing. They estimate that a person could spend maybe 10 hours in the water maximum. Attaie's family and friends are hoping maybe he got himself out of the water and they just haven't managed to hook up with him yet.