Diver Missing Off La Jolla Shores

[lamont]

In general, I'd advise not trying to move the body around at all. Best options are to either mark it with a bag and leave it in place, possibly tying off to something so that the currents won't move it. At 170, though, you run into the problem that the professional dive teams won't be able to dive that deep to make a recovery. If you have surface support, I'd strongly consider just attaching a large SMB and sending the body up to the surface, maybe with a turned on backup light clipped off to it.

At that point "disturbing the crime scene" becomes secondary to keeping yourself safe and dealing with the limitations of the professional dive recovery teams.

I know of one recovery of remains at depths like that around here (180-ish feet) where the diver who found the remains just blew a bag, I'm not sure who did the actual recovery. Probably requires co-ordination with the police/fire dept dive teams to get an accurate answer...

 

[AfterDark]

"Capt. Shane Thompson, a technical dive instructor, was the one who found the body and was a member of a private search team who searched for May on Friday.
Thompson is one of about 30 advanced technical divers in the area who has the ability to reach depths of 400 feet.
Thompson, who did not want money or recognition, said he simply wanted to help the family of a fellow diver"
The body was found Sunday at a depth below where rescue divers can safely go, Lerum said. He said the body could have been moved around by currents over the last week.
Hats off to you Captain!

 

[DandyDon]

I am guessing that one of the reasons that Capt Thompson sent the body up rather than just marking it is that the public safety divers can't go that deep. If the deceased was wearing a downloadable computer, it would be interesting to know what it reveals. There hasn't been any mention of tank pressure has there?

 

[Ken Kurtis]

If the deceased was wearing a downloadable computer, it would be interesting to know what it reveals. There hasn't been any mention of tank pressure has there?

He was missing underwater for (I think) six days. That's 144 hours. Which means there's a good chance all the computer data (IF he had a downloadable computer) may have been over-written as the computer's memory filled up. Likewise, air could have slowly leaked out over that amount of time.

So a computer may not provide any reliable info and lack of air in the tank does not necessarily mean anything, let alone indicate that he definitively ran out of air on the dive.

I still think the biggest question to answer, and an answer that may be impossible to find, is WHY did he go into the water by himself (if that's in fact what he did).

- Ken

 

[DandyDon]

He was missing underwater for (I think) six days. That's 144 hours. Which means there's a good chance all the computer data (IF he had a downloadable computer) may have been over-written as the computer's memory filled up. Likewise, air could have slowly leaked out over that amount of time.

So a computer may not provide any reliable info and lack of air in the tank does not necessarily mean anything, let alone indicate that he definitively ran out of air on the dive.

I still think the biggest question to answer, and an answer that may be impossible to find, is WHY did he go into the water by himself (if that's in fact what he did).

- Ken

I had a computer start a false dive once when my plane landed and it kept tracking the shallow dive for hours as there was no way for me to stop it other than removing the battery - and I lacked tools or skills for that. Sometimes during the night it shut off and I just restarted it the next morning, with the record of the 4 ft dive I think it was. I suppose different brands handle that differently.

As to why he dived alone? He was reportedly meeting other divers but did not connect with them. It was claimed that he was an experienced diver even tho he had not been on a dive for a year, so it's easy to imagine him thinking he would be okay on a solo dive. (obvious speculation)

 

[mathauck0814]

I still think the biggest question to answer ... is WHY did he go into the water by himself (if that's in fact what he did).

I believe it was reported in one of the stories that he had intended to meet up with friends who were a no show. I would have done exactly the same thing.

Aside from that, it's not uncommon at all for people to solo dive at the shores.

 

[Ken Kurtis]

I believe it was reported in one of the stories that he had intended to meet up with friends who were a no show.

FTR, what was reported (and what I've been told separately) is that he was joining a Meetup group. The group apparently was there and dove. (Not sure how many in the group.) According to people in the group, they never saw him. What's not been reported is whether or not the spot where his car was found was near the meeting place or entry point for the Meetup dive. I'd be curious to know that detail, since it might shed light on whether he was in the wrong spot or whether he arrived late (or early or on the wrong date) or whether someone's not telling the truth about him showing up and entering with them.

Aside from that, it's not uncommon at all for people to solo dive at the shores.

I certainly have no problem with qualified divers choosing to dive solo. However, personally, I will never do a solo dive from the beach. Boats??? No problem.

The reason is that I'm relatively certain that if something were to go wrong, I will be able to cause myself to end up at the surface, whether conscious or unconscious. (And I reaslize not everyone wil agree with the merits of my underlying assumption but I'd rather not get into a debate about those.) On a boat, we've got people (DMs) who are looking at the water and constantly scanning for problems so I'm comfortable that I'll be spotted and that if I've got a chance to survive, the DM response will give that to me.

On a beach, howver, that's usually not the case. Many beaches here in SoCal are ungaurded. And even at the ones that are, the lifeguards are more likely paying attention to a relatively small area that's relatively close to shore. This is not a knock against the lifeguards, just the nature of the beast. They may not be watching a couple of hundred yards offshore where a diver in trouble might surface.

So personally for me, I'm not at all a fan of solo beach diving and I try to discourage people who ask me about it from doing that for the reasons cited above.

- Ken

 

[Hatul]

Interesting, because I consider shore diving safer than diving from a boat, and I feel safer solo diving from shore. It's especially true here in Laguna where the reefs are relatively shallow. However I would never solo dive, shore or boat, without taking the pony.

 

[Power Scuba]

Ken, it's probable Jeff May was seeking to meet with persons from my group, Power Scuba. Our web site is hosted by Meetup.

Jeff joined our group approx one week before Memorial Day, though he had not interracted with the group (by RSVPing for an event or posting on the message board) at all. Especially notable was the fact he did not RSVP for our Memorial Day gathering at the Shores. The structure of the event pages on a Meetup-hosted site is such that one is heavily encouraged to use the RSVP format. (Even if Jeff had found the group he would not have been allowed to buddy up with an attending member because he hadn't filled out the groups liability release nor RSVPed on the event page.

My Event Organizer that day (I wasn't there) tells me neither he nor any other member (around 12 divers or so) saw Jeff (or anyone resembling Jeff) that day.

Too, the timing of Jeff's tank rental (8:30 am at OEX, according to the lifeguards)... which would put his arrival at the Shores ~ 8:40 am to 9 am... means he was late for our event meetup time of 8 am (if ours was indeed the group he was seeking). It's likely all of my members were in the water by the time Jeff showed up.

Too, Jeff called his wife around that time and told her he couldn't find the group he was seeking. That was the last word from him.

My Organizer stated their staked-out area was East of the big flagpole, at Kellog Park, under a tree. Lifeguards stated Jeff's plastic tote box (with his personal items) was found West of the flagpole where the grass meets the sand {of the mini-playground, I'm guessing}. That puts his tote box around 15 yards from our area, which had Power Scuba signage. Why he didn't even see our sign before he called his wife is anyone's guess. I was told there were a great deal of divers at the park that day, so perhaps that is a reason.

Everything points to him having gone out by himself after he couldn't find the group he was seeking. His profile stated he was a transplant from Oregon, had 2000 dives under his belt, and was SSI Dive Con certed. One of his pics shows him wearing a DUI drysuit. So, probably not a newbie.

Other sources stated he had never dove the Shores before, but had perhaps dove the Cove. (Still other sources state he HAD dove the Shores before.)

I'm glad Shane was able to locate Jeff and thus help the family with their grieving process.

Cheers,

Bill

FTR, what was reported (and what I've been told separately) is that he was joining a Meetup group. The group apparently was there and dove. (Not sure how many in the group.) According to people in the group, they never saw him. What's not been reported is whether or not the spot where his car was found was near the meeting place or entry point for the Meetup dive. I'd be curious to know that detail, since it might shed light on whether he was in the wrong spot or whether he arrived late (or early or on the wrong date) or whether someone's not telling the truth about him showing up and entering with them. {Snip}

 

[DandyDon]

Ken, it's probable Jeff May was seeking to meet with persons from my group, Power Scuba. Our web site is hosted by Meetup.

It was mentioned in post #1 news story quoted...

Lifeguards contacted the group he was scheduled to go out with. They said he didn't go out with them.

Unless that was incorrect, or perhaps it was someone in your group contacted?