Missing Diver at Lake Pleasant

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If i missed it on an earlier post i apologize, but is there any word about restricting access to other divers?
 
Lake Pleasant search for diver halted because of weather

Oct. 21, 2010 11:36 AM
The Arizona Republic

Weather has impacted the search for a Phoenix man who went missing five days ago while scuba diving at Lake Pleasant in Peoria.

"It's pouring up there," Jeff Sprong, a spokesman for Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, said Thursday morning.

Rescue crews with the Sheriff's Office have been unable to search the past two days due to rain.

Timothy Borger, 48, did not resurface when he and a small group dove into the water about noon Saturday. Sprong said that rescue teams had been using a boat with a robot that is submerged and uses sonar and an underwater camera. He said the robot can go much deeper into the lake than divers could.

Because of debris and dangers in the water, the robot only has 1 foot of visibility, making the search a slow process.

"It's very tedious," Sprong said.

Borger had been diving in the area near a former dam, which contains a lot of concrete, steel and other debris.

Crews hope to resume the search once the weather clears.

Sprong said if the missing diver is not found by next week, the search would be scaled back, although it would continue.


Read more: Lake Pleasant search for diver halted because of weather
 
Channel 3 news reported this am on tv and confirmed via phone call the search has been suspended. Anyone know what will happen next? Comercial divers? Nothing?

It depends. With the search for Gilbert Aldana, the search was too deep at Vista Point and they discontinued so the family came to Dart, Me and a few others to ask us to search. I can talk to the MCSO guys if it is permanently suspended to see if they would be interested in a group of us seasoned Trimix divers organizing into a search. At some point, we will be looking at a pretty good investment in Helium for Open Circuit guys as well as time spent. I am sure Karen would be happy to help us with a boat (sorry Karen, I am guessing) but if we do this, we need to organize it, map area and execute it on a standard SAR grid.

I will look into this. It may have just been suspended due to weather this morning though.
 
Bill, you need a rebreather, much more effecient use of helium!!! We will see what happens.

You're not kidding. I sold my Optima since I just couldn't justify having it with my day job and what not. I miss it at times like this! I am done restoring my car now so maybe I can talk to the financial committee!!!!! :D

I certainly did like the Helium and Oxygen bills better in the Philippines when I was diving it though!
 
Sprong said if the missing diver is not found by next week, the search would be scaled back, although it would continue.

If they are searching with an ROV, how does one scale back?
 
This is in no way meant to show disrespect to Tim, his family, friends, The Scubateer crew, his instructor or those diving with him or other members of this board. I didnt know Tim but I am deeply saddened by his loss and it has affected me in a small way compared to those who know him. I am only asking because when i get more training in the future I want to know what to expect.

so im new to diving, only 50 dives. im looking into getting my AOW and SOLO in the future so i want to know if what i heard is even close to true or something that could happen. cause if it is i need to know. i heard the diver was new. he only had a few dives, like less than 15. he was getting his AOW, Bouyancy (if thats how its spelled) and navigation training and his deep water. like i said im new so if those arent the right names.....

so my questions are this. should they have let him do the extra classes so soon to learning the basics? i was told to get atleast 100 dives before i get more certs. should all of those been done at once? ( this isnt meant to blame the instructure either. im just asking cause i dont know. i understand hind sight is 2020.) if so is a place like the dam a good place for that? i have been to the dam a few times. it seemed to drop off real fast on either side of it. seems like not the right place to work on bouyancy. if im going to get my navigation, should i expect the instructor to be right next to me with in arms reach? i know when i did my training with a local shop (if you want to know who, read some of my few other posts as i dont want to "pimp" him right now, but he is great) but when i did my cert class he was right there with me and never out of reach. granted that was only for the first 5 dives but when i went diving with buddys after that they knew i was new and i never got out or reach of them. both on an effort of mine and theirs.

im not asking to get flamed, im asking so if its not supposed to be this way, I will know. as i know there are several different opinions on the practices of others on this board, i figured this would be the best place to ask.
 
so my questions are this. should they have let him do the extra classes so soon to learning the basics? i was told to get atleast 100 dives before i get more certs. should all of those been done at once?

There are some people that the OW class should be longer and include all those skills and there are those that think people should wait and get more experience before adding on other skills.

Perhaps the best answer is "it depends."

Different people learn at different rates. Some people "get it" all at once, others take a while and a lot of practice to get a handle on skills. There is no right or wrong way, it's what works for you.

The waiting for 100 dives is usually more advanced certs, like technical or professional levels.
 
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