Found Camera - stage.com - Help!

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Wait a minute! That might be the answer to this mystery! Post the video on YouTube with a tag that explains its origin and ask viewers to tell anyone they know who dives! Edit any private segments, of course. Practically everyone watches YouTube. It might increase the chances of finding the owner!
Maybe so, especially if the turtle vid is decent - with the right title and storyline. I'd post it on other forums and send in emails.
 
I have nothing helpful to add.. but I will be following this story. How cool!
 
This is strange,I was in aruba 11/3-11/12 and heard of a few lost cameras. Local dive ops. rent them out. A diver on the boat I was on had one,from what I recall it was cannon w-170 in a Ikelite shell. Also the pic. of the girl with the doll in the upper right you can see tropical looking trees and it seems to be around sunset.The switch is a A/C thermostat trane I think?, so it must be hot.
 
A few new comments to add to the discussion:

The light switch doesn't look North American. If anything, the wall stains may suggest the photo was taken somewhere warm and tropical.

Around the Caribbean, Continental flies to Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, Caymans, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St Croix, St Maarten, St Thomas, Trinidad and Tobago

Where was that plane on that date and time? I wonder if Continental Public Relations would be willing to track that down for us. Aquahound, can we get an exact picture-taken time from the EXIF?

In the outside photos, no one seems to have found the architecture particularly distinctive to any particular place. It's not uncommon for construction styles in tourist areas is to be imported.

*stage.com can't have many more letters in it and still fit on the truck door.

From what little I understand of ocean currents, most stuff that drifts out to sea and gets caught in a current rarely drifts back onshore elsewhere, although it's not impossible. The photos may not have been taken where the camera was lost.

It seems a bit low probability for a sea creature to first turn on the camera, and then start recording, since on most cameras, this means pressing multiple buttons in succession. Slightly more chance of it being turned on by the owner and then dropped, since it would then only take one lucky bite to start recording. Or the owner started recording and dropped it, maybe forgetting to stop it for some other reason. I think the OP mentioned originally thinking it almost looked like someone was drowning or otherwise in trouble, in that last video.


Feeling energetic, here's a summary of conclusions to date. I've deliberately omitted some of the less definitive suggestions, or those without any specific evidence to back them up

---

Camera Found in Key West. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5249569-post1.html)

#1: Two divers w/ residential building, yellow truck, 2 sets of doubles (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/at...5625-found-camera-stage-com-help-dscn3215.jpg)
#2: Diver off beach resort (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/at...5793-found-camera-stage-com-help-dscn3301.jpg)
#3: School function (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/at...9937-found-camera-stage-com-help-dscn3240.jpg)
#4: Airport w/ Continenal 737 #N78285 or 385 (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/at...9965-found-camera-stage-com-help-dscn3269.jpg)
#5: Family in restaurant (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/at...0030-found-camera-stage-com-help-dscn3305.jpg)
#6: Child in a house (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/at...4244-found-camera-stage-com-help-dscn3270.jpg)
#7: Child in front of wall or door (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/at...5955-found-camera-stage-com-help-dscn3288.jpg)

- UW pictures and video dated Nov 1 through 11, 2009
- Kids and school taken between dives.
- 20 min video dated Jan 2010 of loggerhead turtle swimming away with the camera strap. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5249645-post5.html)

- Camera won't turn on. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5255617-post96.html)


Observations
- Yellow Chevy truck w/ *stage.com. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5249569-post1.html)
- Truck possibly has Dunlop ties. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5253610-post29.html)
- Truck is left hand drive. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5253687-post30.html)
- Photo #2 has a blue pay phone enclosure with a white phone image. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5253687-post30.html)
- Photo #1 (truck) has diver wearing watch that says 1:25 pm. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5253717-post32.html)
- Writing on school wall is Dutch. "The Big Cookbook of ???". (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5255384-post64.html)
- Continental flies to Aruba. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5255464-post71.html)
- On the school wall (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5255472-post73.html):
Het grotie kookboek
Van
De Schakel

(Handwriting)
KOKENISLEUK or

KOKEN IS LEUK
- "de Schakel" is a common name for Dutch schools. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5255507-post82.html)
- Ikelite housing (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5255591-post94.html)
- Photo #7 wall switch doesn't look North American.
- Around the Caribbean, Continental flies to Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, Caymans, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St Croix, St Maarten, St Thomas, Trinidad and Tobago


Less Definitive Conjectures
- Building in truck photo was not taken in Keys. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5249569-post1.html)
- Two months of marine growth. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5252239-post14.html)
- Palms don't look Mexican or Bahamian. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5253541-post25.html)
- Photo #2 has man in background in Speedos. Some place with a lot of Europeans? (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5253585-post27.html)
- White stuff on lower half of trees common in Dutch Antillies. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5253610-post29.html)
- *stage.com on truck implies an English-speaking area. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5253687-post30.html)
- Tanks at back of truck look ready to dive. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5253717-post32.html)
- Truck could be rental or borrowed, but *stage.com logo may imply the latter. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5254484-post47.html)
- Trucks not popular in Europe. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5254636-post49.html)
- Bronze sedan behind truck might be a Buick LeSabre. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5254828-post50.html)
- Bronze sedan missing gas door under c-pillar in 2000-2005 LeSabres.
- There's a costume festival in February in Aruba. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5255474-post74.html)
- In school pic, possibly a Dutch flag and not Dutch Antilles. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5255480-post75.html)
- Photo #6 not taken in Holland. Wrong architecture and open courtyard. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5255509-post83.html)
- Turtle started the Jan video, and not the diver. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5255512-post84.html)
- Airport may be St. Maarten. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5256045-post108.html)
- So far, in the outside photos, architecture not distinctive. Could be just about anywhere warm frequented by tourists.


Possibilities
- Lost somewhere in the Caribbean and drifted to Key West. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5249569-post1.html)
- Doubles: Mexico? (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5253420-post22.html)
- Doubles: technical or cave diving? Again, Mexico? (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5253687-post30.html
- Lost near Key West and didn't drift far. (http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/5253687-post30.html)


Specific Issues to Investigate
- Shape of light fixtures.
- Brand of TV.
- Where was that plane on that date?
 
This is on St. Maarten (Airport code SXM). (At least I think so based on what I see.)

Website: stage curacao werken lopen stageplek kamer stageburo wereldstage buitenland vacature internshipHome

Other option is it might be Curacao as well.

But I think the website is right based on text font on the car and on the site.

Looking at satellite photos and images from the net, St Maarten airport doesn't seem like, since it's surrounded by buildings, beaches, people and a lack of hills, unlike the background of the taxiing Continental flight. Aruba seems a little crowded too. There's more green space and hills around Curacao, or maybe Bonaire (concentrating on Continental and the Netherlands Antilles.)

BTW, registration number of the plane is indeed 78285. N78385 is a puddle jumper.
 
You guys have been fantastic with your help! I'm patiently waiting word back from the "Schakel" school. I'll also send a blurb and a couple pictures to that link in Curacao.

As for the issue with the turtle, the last thing the divers did on Nov 11 was film a short video. The camera was alreay in video mode. When the turtle chomped down on the camera and it turned on, it had to of immediately started recording. The power button and record button are right next to each other on top of the camera, and one bite could have hit both buttons at once. Interestingly, I pulled a tooth out of the power button on the outside of the Ikelite casing.

Sorry about the video, folks. The 2GB size is really limiting me. I'm trying to copy the video to another memory source where I can edit out most of it and shrink it down. The second half is just the camera floating anyway.
 
Website: stage curacao werken lopen stageplek kamer stageburo wereldstage buitenland vacature internshipHome

Other option is it might be Curacao as well.

But I think the website is right based on text font on the car and on the site.

Excellent work.... right letters, bright colors.... has a "d"... wonderful work.

Would guess someone there would know who the people were, or at least the truck.


Message sent to the website 'contact' with request that they search on "scubaboard help find camera" since their contact page would not allow me to post a link!

What fun!!! :D iztok, you rock!
 
Fantastic thread.
It has been a fabulous read, hopefully we will have a happy ending.
We must be close now.
 

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