Oak Park resident Michael Reardon, a world famous rock climber and a mentor to many of the sport's local enthusiasts, was missing off the coast of Ireland and feared dead Saturday.

Irish authorities began searching for Reardon near Valentia Island Friday after a fellow climber said a wave swept the pro off a ledge and into the sea.

Reardon had just finished a climb and was standing on a rock shelf at the base of a cliff when a wave hit him from behind, knocked him on his back, and carried him out to sea, friend Con Moriarty told an Irish TV news station.

Reardon was staying with Moriarty while in Ireland. Another of Reardon's climbing friends witnessed the accident.

Coast guard personnel, cliff rescue teams, a search and rescue helicopter and local residents were searching for Reardon this weekend.

A professional climber for 18 years, Reardon had been climbing in Ireland for about a month. He was due to return to the United States this weekend.

A charismatic figure with a quick smile and long blond hair, Reardon, 36, is both revered and controversial in climbing circles.

He is a free soloist, meaning he climbs sheer rock faces, sometimes more than 1,000 feet tall, without a rope.

'Among the top'

With graceful confidence and without protection, Reardon mastered routes most experienced climbers will never finish with a rope, said Christiaan Luneberg, owner of the Boulderdash climbing gym in Thousand Oaks.

"The things he accomplished were so amazing," said Luneberg, who has been climbing for about 20 years. "Amongst all the people in the whole world, he was among the top."

Sometimes Reardon's talent mixed with comedy.

This Thanksgiving, Reardon was about 25 feet up a rock wall in Joshua Tree National Park outside Indio when he looked ready to fall, said Weston Ureda, a climbing instructor at Boulderdash.

Instead of falling, the pro merely cursed, complained that his daughter put Abba on his iPod and changed the song, all while hanging on by only a sliver of rock, Ureda said.

Longtime Oak Park resident

In the last few years, Reardon amassed enough sponsorships to support his climbing. A longtime resident of Oak Park, where he lives with his wife Marci and his daughter Nikki, 13, Reardon worked previously as a writer and filmmaker. He also holds a law degree from Pepperdine University, according to his Web site.

Reardon got involved with Boulderdash shortly after it opened about three years ago, said Luneberg.

His impact on the gym was evident Saturday as his friends there took in the news of the accident.

Adam Tischler, a 20-year-old Thousand Oaks resident who works at the climbing gym, said he was nauseous when he found out the local pro was missing.

"Michael was like a brother to all of us," said Tischler, who has been climbing with Reardon since he was 13.

Luneberg was shocked by the accident.

"It's hard to process it, you know, its hard to imagine he's not here anymore."

Reminders of Reardon are scattered around the gym.

An autographed copy of a recent issue of Urban Climber magazine, with Reardon on the cover, is displayed under glass near the cash register.

The pro climber's name is written in marker around the gym next to routes he designed.

Mentor to local climbers

Outside, Reardon's friends embraced and held back tears while they gathered to talk about him Saturday.

A man with a raucous, often racy sense of humor, Reardon was generous with his knowledge of climbing, Ureda said.

"It's just incredible how he knew so much and could teach so well," said Ureda, 17, of Agoura.

Reardon went out of his way to encourage young climbers, said Luneberg.

"He never had any degrading things to say to anyone," he recalled. "He let you know he was good, but he also let you know you were good too." Ureda, who recently placed 20th in a national climbing competition, was one of many young climbers Reardon took under his wing.

"Pretty much everything major I've done related to climbing he's been there for," he said.

Irish authorities were still searching for Reardon Saturday, but many of his friends had already begun to grieve his loss.

Some held onto the hope that Reardon's mental and physical toughness might pull him through.

"If anyone could be found in this situation it would be Michael," Ureda said.