Cooper River diver missing - South Carolina

[DandyDon]

I believe that the river is popular with divers searching for prehistoric shark teeth, and I am speculating that the divers were eager to look for newly uncovered specimens after recent rains from the hurricane that broke up in the area. I believe that the water is always murky with currents and debris, but would be worse after those rains.

Emergency crews searching for diver who didn’t surface in the Cooper River in Berkeley Co.

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Berkeley County emergency crews are continuing their search for a diver who did not surface in the Cooper River.

The search is happening in the area of Dupont while law enforcement has set up a command station at the Cypress Gardens Boat Landing.

On Friday, just after 3 p.m., emergency operators received a call from a woman who was asking for help with a missing diver. According to the sheriff’s office, there were four people on a boat, all of whom were diving.

Sheriff Duane Lewis said one of the divers surfaced and then went back down, apparently in distress.

“They came here as recreational divers in that part of the Cooper River which they frequently do,” Lewis said. “Then this particular diver got into trouble.”

The sheriff’s office is asking the public to use caution in the area of the boat landing and to be aware of emergency vessels and divers in the water.

Members of the Berkeley County Marine Unit and the Pimlico Fire Department responded to the scene.


In addition, Lewis said they had eight divers in the water searching with several boats with DNR units assisting.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

I believe that the river is popular with divers searching for prehistoric shark teeth, and I am speculating that the divers were eager to look for newly uncovered specimens after recent rains from the hurricane that broke up in the area. I believe that the water is always murky with currents and debris, but would be worse after those rains.

That is my guess, as well.

The visibility is varying degrees of terrible. Mostly a foot or so. Below about 10’...it’s essentially a night dive. The current can be very strong at times. There Is a lot of debris.


Sounds like a private group, rather than a charter...which was my first thought.

BCSO searching for missing diver in Cooper River | WCBD News 2

BERKELEY CO., S.C. (WCBD) – The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) is searching for a missing person in the Cooper River as of 3:00 p.m. Friday.

Members of Berkeley County Marine Unit, the Berkeley County Dive Team, the SC Department of Natural Resources, and the Pimlico Fire Department are responding.

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According to BCSO, a group of three friends went diving at the Cypress Gardens Boat Landing — a popular local dive spot — on Friday afternoon.

Officials said that one member of the group resurfaced and was “visibly in distress,” then slipped back under the water. It is unclear how much air was left in his tank.

The incident is being treated as a possible drowning.

Rescue crews say that the search is being complicated by multiple factors, including the strong current, the murkiness of the water, and the large amount of debris in the water.

They expect to suspend the search effort at some point this evening, as dive searches in the dark are dangerous and difficult.

The Cypress Garden Boat Landing is being used as a staging area. People are asked to use caution in the area and be aware of the ongoing search.

News 2 is on scene and will provide updates as they become available.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

BCSO divers recovered the body of the missing diver.


Body found in Cooper River; Berkeley deputies suspend search for missing diver

 

[Jared0425]

With heavy rains, I bet that river's current was intense. Coupled with zero vis and a lot of debris, I bet the recovery was difficult.

 

[poseident]

Question for anyone who's experienced the Cooper River under these conditions... Obviously entanglement is always a potential issue, but what about being struck by debris moving in the current? I can imagine deadfall coming by, sweeping you off the bottom and taking you for a ride. Add the risk of a branch snagging your reg and potentially restricting your movement, this scenario gets ugly fast.

I'm not speculating that is what happened here. I've thought about doing this dive and one of the things that always gives me pause is being completely unfamiliar with the hazards a diver would face in this environment.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

So in my opinion - I have dove the Cooper River once - you are very overloaded with a extra weight on the belt and a bag full of rocks and hopefully teeth. You are overloaded to begin with and if you are not paying attention to dropping your load - you may not surface. My son and I used screwdrivers to drive into the river bed with one hand and used a flashlight with the second hand to feel and pack the bag. His inflator hose connection was leaking and he was having a heck of a time trying to surface. I grabbed him and overinflated to get us both with bags up to the surface - had I let go - I hate to think what would have happened. If your equipment is not in top shape you should not dive the Cooper River.
Just giving my feedback - I am not saying this is what happened - but it surely could have...

 

[poseident]

I hadn't thought about the extra "ballast." That scenario makes sense and adds to the risk list... Everyone be safe....

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

Question for anyone who's experienced the Cooper River under these conditions... Obviously entanglement is always a potential issue, but what about being struck by debris moving in the current? I can imagine deadfall coming by, sweeping you off the bottom and taking you for a ride. Add the risk of a branch snagging your reg and potentially restricting your movement, this scenario gets ugly fast.

I'm not speculating that is what happened here. I've thought about doing this dive and one of the things that always gives me pause is being completely unfamiliar with the hazards a diver would face in this environment.

I experienced both of those things in one day of diving (three dives). I wore a helmet with lights mounted. On several occasions, I could feel stuff thumping off my helmet. After experiencing that...I’d never dive there without a helmet.

My first dive, I was carrying a pony bottle. I lost my hand hold on the river bottom (the river picks/screwdrivers I used for the first dive weren’t long enough) and I drifted a few feet and got hung up (the LP hose on the pony bottle) on a submerged log/tree. I freed myself and opted to not carry the pony bottle for the next two dives.

For river picks...you literally want ~1’ long screwdrivers (drill a hole in each, run bungee cord through them, and fasten one to each wrist). Jam them into the river bottom. That’s the only way you’re staying put, even with a lot of extra weight added to your pouches.

I did a LOT of research prior to booking the dives and making that trip. Ex. I even went and did some dives in a local river with crappy visibility and a decent current to get some idea what I was getting into. The first dive...I’ll just say that you can watch all the videos online that you want. There’s nothing quite like that first time you hit bottom, lay there, and listen and watch the current rip by.

As @Basking Ridge Diver said...you’re diving heavy. Contrary to standard diving procedures, you WILL need to add air to your wing/BC to ascend. Your first ascent is pretty unnerving...the only way to have a sense of your depth...and whether or not you’re actually ascending...is to keep your eyes glued to your depth gauge.

 

[DandyDon]

https://abcnews4.com/news/local/coroner-identifies-48-year-old-man-as-missing-diver-on-cooper-river

 

[houdini0118]

As a localish diver the speculation is that his wing dump broke or got stuck open and he dumped all his air trying to stay on the surface and sank with an empty tank. I did see that almost kill someone last year but luckily the boat captain was near by and screamed at him to drop his weights which he did.