Missing Diver Cozumel

[stano]

Any update on this guy. I met him recently as we stayed at the iberostar (early November) he video taped my daughters first dive. This is a very tragic thing to happen to a very nice guy.

Stano

 

[annlaur]

Unfortunately no, according to Por Esto.
The story in this Friday's edition says searches have been stopped. Authorities have alerted all boats on Cozumel and on the mainland to keep an eye out should the body turn up. Because of the weather conditions, currents have been pretty impredictible/hard to track, so it's hard to say where he might be.
Very sad indeed.

 

[DandyDon]

Unfortunate loss. Annlaur, have you read whether he was on snorkel or Scuba?

I'm giving a snorkel review class to my daughter's family in a couple of weeks before they take a cruise down there. (They tried to get me to go but I couldn't do that to myself.) It'll be a review for two of them, first time for our boy from Berlin, who knows about her mom but she met one of her husbands in Hawaii so I hope she has some experience - or will hire a private DM. My main challenge it getting my grandson to take any risks seriously. I will include a warning about Shallow Water Blackout, which I'd never heard of when I used to free dive.

 

[annlaur]

None of the articles specifically say "he was diving" or "he was snorkelling". And the people he was taking pictures of are referred to as "tourists".

I just found an article from Thursday's paper that leads me to believe he was snorkeling/free diving.
In short, the story says the searches had been extended for an extra day beyond the 72 hour legal search, even though at that point there was little hope that he was alive.
A high-ranking official of the Cozumel Marine section is quoted explaining that usually, when a person drowns in the ocean and the temperatures are warm, it takes two or three days for the body to float back up to the surface unless it is stuck/entangled, but that since the weather has been cold, it might take longer.


The fact that they don't mention equipment and only use the term "buzo" (diver) in the titles of the articles and nowhere in the stories themselves makes me think that the disappeared was not scuba diving.
But it's just a guess based on my translation/interpretation of a newspaper article, so don't take my word for it.

 

[DandyDon]

Thanks. It was mentioned earlier than he was on a snorkel boat, but I wondered if he might have been on scuba anyway...?

We just arrived home from the Iberostar. Apparently, the diver was 21 years old and was videoing a snorkel trip. He wandered off after a fish (he was diving alone) and did not come back. The snorkel boat searched for bubbles and and then raced back to the dock.

 

[cdahab]

My husband I were at the Iberostar during this tragic event. The photographer was a scuba diver who was out with a snorkel group, doing a video (he was using scuba gear, not a snorkel). I spoke to one of the shook-up snorkelers who said she saw him following something and peeling away from the snorkelers. She figured that was normal and that he'd turn around and come back with them. I believe they were at Palancar Gardens.

 

[Scotty B]

PG is such a popular spot to dive, is it still getting the crowds or are they keeping the general public back for awhile. Nobody wants to write in their logbook how they discovered a body on their dive trip to Coz.

 

[DandyDon]

PG is such a popular spot to dive, is it still getting the crowds or are they keeping the general public back for awhile. Nobody wants to write in their logbook how they discovered a body on their dive trip to Coz.

I wouldn't mind. It'd be distressing sure, but I'd like to help with the recovery before currents can move him too far away for discovery.

 

[cicopo]

Having stayed at the Iberostar twice, and I did over 40 tanks during the stays, I got to do several dives while someone video'd them. It seemed to be common practice for the videographer to follow interesting things like turtles to help make the video more interesting (as in more desirable for the divers to buy). On at least 2 dives the person shooting the video became separated from the group BIG TIME. On 1 occasion he'd followed a turtle very deep before realizing his situation, and he realized it was a situation & sat out working for a few days. The other time that springs to mind we were at Maracaibo, and we were the only boat there. The videographer had followed something, got separated & was at least 1/2 mile north of the boat in rough waters. Somehow the captain had spotted her, which was good because all of the divers were very concerned until he assured us that he knew where she was & that it was OK to leave the area. It's very easy to find & follow something, especially when looking at a viewfinder or LCD rather than at your surroundings & gauges.

 

[stano]

I guess this guy is lost for good? I haven't heard anything.