Another Missing Diver in Cozumel

[ReefHound]

The site is relatively safe and I've done a number of shore dives both solo and with my buddy. It occurred to me, how useful it would be to jot on a piece of paper, "<name> to begin shore dive at <time>, 90 minutes max", and leave it with your stuff? There might not have been a search effort to this degree if Cameron's mom had not been able to report the specifics she knew.

 

[ReefHound]

Why would someone going shore diving leave their backpack sitting on the beach? This just sounds odd to me but perhaps it was behind a bush or something?

I've left t-shirts, towels, sandals, etc. for when I get out but the family's video says his backpack was found on a dock (not a beach) had an ipad, macbook, phone, and passport. And his scooter nearby. I cannot imagine leaving that high dollar stuff unattended and I don't know anyone that carries their passport around. I must have 5 or 6 different wild-azz theories in my head right now, none of which are appropriate to be discussing yet.

 

[ReefHound]

Definitely missing, he is from a town 10 miles from me:

Family holds out hope Mustang diver who went missing in Cozumel is found safe

Click here to support Blake Mitchell Missing in Cozumel organized by Blake’s Family

Done.

 

[soonerwink]

I have dove this area several times with buddies. It's one of the easiest and safest dives that I have done in Cozumel. There is a wall a long swim out, but I have never done it. I did see on his fb page a video he had of a 270 ft solo dive. Not something I would ever do.

 

[divinh]

From looking at maps, Blake disappeared south of Cameron. Would currents be such that a search for Cameron would also overlap a search for Blake? Surely SAR efforts would be looking for any diver adrift alone.

 

[Christi]

From looking at maps, Blake disappeared south of Cameron. Would currents be such that a search for Cameron would also overlap a search for Blake? Surely SAR efforts would be looking for any diver adrift alone.

Yes of course they would be looking for any diver afloat. Blake went missing a week ago yesterday. It was only brought into the public eye a couple of days ago - I am not sure if it had been reported to the authorities prior to that or not - so I cannot say if that had been actively searching for him prior to Monday when we all found out.

 

[soonerwink]

Here is a link to the 270 ft solo dive video he shared on his fb page. Maybe someone will recognize the area. A Wednesday aftertoon doing a 270 ft solo dive

 

[ReefHound]

No diver deserves to go missing but that 270ft solo dive seems to me an unnecessary tempting of fate. I wonder if that is why his CD at the shop advised him not to dive solo? That info from Christi perplexed some of us as we were probably thinking of the usual 25' shore dive.

Hard to tell but a brief glimpse of himself at about 0:54 looks like he's diving a single tank. That's a tech dive and that depth will require deco stops even if a bounce dive. I've seen no indication he had tech training.

Best case scenario for Blake is that this is a land mystery not a dive accident.

 

[cicopo]

One question that might help determine whether it's dive related or land based is where is his scuba gear? If that's missing I suspect it's dive related. There would also be a tank missing from somewhere.

 

[ReefHound]

A flurry of remarkable new details. By all indications (healing from recent car wreck, just got a tattoo, and broke a crown) he shouldn't have been diving at all. Many divers have more than one regulator, I'd still want to know if his BC is there.

From GoFundMe
He got a tattoo Tuesday and told them he’d be back Friday to finish. He couldn’t dive right now because he was still healing from a car wreck. He was basically waiting for April to start diving again, he only dived Monday and Tuesday and was only allowed to dive 130ft until he worked his way back in April.

From FB - Jami (supposedly a relative)
His helmet and regulator were found inside his locker and just returned last night to my mom. So he wasn’t diving, but snorkeling might’ve been an option. Nobody saw him in the water, so we are speculating based on where his belongings were found

Yes a bike. His helmet was still in locker where he worked. Everything isn't making sense and lots of questions need to be answered. His mom is there trying to find answers. His text home that day to his brother was saying he had a toothache (crown broke) and was planning on going home and lay down for a bit.