Sad news on Roatan

[James Bond boat entry]

From website Scuba Diving News :: CDNN - Cyber Diver News Network

ROATAN, Honduras (26 Aug 2008) — A PADI scuba diving instructor was jailed after a 23-year-old Dutch woman died on holiday in Roatan, Honduras.

Dan Ross, 30, a dual British and Australian national, was incarcerated in Coxen Hole jail on Roatan after a late-night drinking spree led to the death of Mariska Mast, a 23-year-old Dutch woman on holiday in Honduras.

Ross told police Mast suddenly collapsed in his bathroom after they had been out drinking in a Roatan bar.

Instead of immediately taking Mast to hospital, Ross and a Korean woman with whom he was living kept her in their apartment.

Ross told authorities he noticed she stopped breathing after about two hours and started CPR.

Unable to revive the victim, Ross finally took her to hospital and then returned to his apartment where he and his housekeeper "cleaned up the mess".

British officials in Honduras said an autopsy was "inconclusive" and it is not yet clear whether police will charge Ross.

Ross allegedly arrived on Roatan last March and may have been working illegally for Coconut Tree Divers, a PADI 5 Star Instructor Development Center co-owned by British expat P J Rowntree.

 

[James Bond boat entry]

Missed this paragraph after posting and could change... maybe Mr. Ross was removed from the website after the fact.

CDNN has confirmed that Ross is not one of a dozen or so scuba diving instructors and other staff listed on the web site of Coconut Tree Divers.

 

[diversteve]

Missed this paragraph after posting and could change... maybe Mr. Ross was removed from the website after the fact.

CDNN has confirmed that Ross is not one of a dozen or so scuba diving instructors and other staff listed on the web site of Coconut Tree Divers.

Later Edit: I retract this statement:

I don't think Coconut Tree has changed their website since I last saw it in May. So I doubt you're correct.

I still stand by this:

IMO it's also wrong of CDNN to post PJ's picture. He's a very up-front guy and it has no relevance to what happened except for possibly employing the suspect illegally.

But that's what I'd expect from the National Enquirer of the dive world.

 

[James Bond boat entry]

Somebody is hiding something, did a google search on the girl's name and had a hit on a website, but the posting seems to have disappeared, but is saved in cache.

"This is a continuation of the story of Dan Ross, a fellow Coconut Tree Divers instructor and personal friend who is currently being investigated for murder by Honduran police following the freak death of Mariska Mast, a 23-year-old Dutch student."

[Editor: In an earlier post I erroneously referred to Mariska as “Malika.” My apologies.]

Island time is generally a good thing. Whether it’s sipping on a delicious rum and pineapple, drifting over a pristine coral reef, or soaking up rays on a white-sand beach, the common consensus is that slower is better.

In the case of Dan Ross, island time is infuriating. Dan has been waiting at the Honduran police station since Friday, 22 August 2008, to be released for his involvement in attempting to resuscitate Mariska Mast after she freakishly collapsed on his bathroom floor. The autopsy report is now overdue, having been promised to arrive yesterday, and as of now no official charges have been filed. Dan has been living in a police station office since being released from the “pigpen” on Sunday, where he has recently been in fairly good spirits given his predicament.

Fortunately, more help arrived today in the form of Dan’s criminal lawyers and his sister, the latter of whom booked an emergency flight from her home on Grand Cayman to support her brother. Sandra Bonilla Ochoa, the Honduran Liaison between the Dirección General de Investigación Criminal (DGIC) and the United State embassy, has been nothing short of marvelous in ensuring that Dan is treated appropriately and receives as much assistance as possible. Of course, the Cult of Coconut has been sending visitors to Dan throughout the last several days, bringing him much-needed laughs, hugs, and piping-hot Honduran coffee.

Jisoo Han, the South Korean instructor-in-training who directly witnessed Mariska’s fall and subsequent death, has been subpoenaed back from the neighboring island of Utila amidst her PADI Instructor Exam. She will be either flown or sailed directly to Roatan overnight so she can provide her account to the courts. As the only on-scene witness of the events aside from Dan, her testimony will prove vital in vindicated Dan of any allegations.

By Honduran law, the police have until tomorrow to formally press charges or release Dan. We all pray that the latter is the case; hopefully Dan and I will be toasting each other at sunset by Thursday night. If not, the levee will be burst on the general stream of media attention we have received thus far; the ensuing torrent of media exposure will drown the island of Roatan.

TheScubaGeek.com - website development, scuba diving, and island living on Roatan, Honduras » media

Story also appeared in the UK:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...iver-held-in-Honduras-after-student-dies.html

 

[tc]

Another wonderful example (authors name omitted of course) of speculation, inference, and of course inferred guilt by association by the fine folks at CDNN.

 

[robint]

CDNN is the National Enquirer of the scuba world.

This issue was also discussed on the Cocochat board.

 

[deeper thoughts]

CDNN is the National Enquirer of the scuba world.

This issue was also discussed on the Cocochat board.

Sometimes the national enquirer is right. Just ask John Edwards

 

[Ed L.]

Didnt Al gore invent the National Enquirer?

 

[almitywife]

British diver held in Honduras after student dies - Telegraph

British diver held in Honduras after student dies
A British diving instructor is being held in Honduras after one of his students collapsed in his bathroom and later died.

By Tom Leonard in New York
Last Updated: 10:46PM BST 26 Aug 2008

Dan Ross, 30, spent several days in a notoriously grim jail in Coxen Hole on the Honduran island of Roatan before being transferred to a police station following the intervention of British diplomats.

Mr Ross, who holds dual British and Australian nationality, has yet to be charged with any crime but, as a foreigner, the Hondurans consider him a flight risk.

He told police that Mariska Mast, a 23-year-old Dutch tourist, collapsed suddenly on his bathroom floor at around 3am last Friday after they had gone out drinking.

After monitoring her condition for two hours with a Korean woman with whom he shared the flat, Mr Ross noticed her breathing had stopped and immediately performed cardiopulmonary resusciation (CPR).

According to British officials, Mr Ross took her to hospital but, unable to converse with Spanish-speaking doctors who signaled that he had to leave, he returned to his home in the island's West End district.

Finding his housekeeper cleaning up after the incident, he helped her - unaware that Miss Mast had died and that they were removing vital evidence.

Mat Harper, the British Honorary Consul on Roatan, said he was visiting Mr Ross every day with food and reading materials.

He said: "He's in pretty good shape. He's being detained as a matter of course as, under Honduran law, he was associated with the woman who died."

He added: "He's being held for questioning because the Hondurans want to ascertain exactly what happened that night."

An autopsy at the weekend was inconclusive but Mr Ross's fate will become clear at a second hearing when the Hondurans must decide whether to charge or release him.

Mr Ross, who was born in Australia but is understood to have a British mother, had been on Roatan since March.

He taught at the British-owned Coconut Tree Divers diving school, where he had completed both his diving and instructor training .

Staff at the school said they were "horrified" by his situation and described Mr Ross as a "great guy".

A fellow teacher said: "It's really harsh. In the diving industry, we're taught to administer CPR and first aid. Dan went into the mode that all of us go into when that happens."

 

[pinchy2]

It concerns me greatly that despite parading as serious journalists, CDNN cannot effectively construct a newsworthy article without complete fabrication of details which are readily available online (see link listed in James Bond Boat Entry's post earlier today).

As both an ex-student, and personal friend of Dan Ross, I am dismayed by the readiness of CDNN to publicise him as an irresponsible lout, with no regard for others, in an article with NO basis in fact, when in reality, this could not be further from the truth. Having been present for the duration of this particularly trying time for Mr Ross, I feel compelled to make it known that depsite reading CDNN's article multiple times in close detail, the only truth I can find is the spelling of his name.

Mr Ross has suffered a worse ordeal this past week than most will face in their lifetimes, as a result of doing everything in his power to save a young womans life. When faced with a tragic situation, Mr Ross went above and beyond what could be reasonably expected of anyone, and in return, was placed in a third world prison, provided with nothing beyond a square of concrete floor, and held without charge for 6 days.

It is with much relief that it can now be reported that Dan has been released, without charge, allowing us all to finally focus on the true tragedy of the last week, and for our thoughts to be with the family of the young woman who passed away well before her time.

I am only one of the many who offer Dan our full faith and support, and can only hope that the general public are able to see beyond the fantastical fabrication CDNN choose to describe as a news report.

M