Dan Grenier lost at sea.

[rhino61]

Sharon,
Could you tell us how long after Danielle & Dan went missing that (Debbie M.) gave her view & Drawing of where Danielle was on the Island she drew. It would help gage how far they may have been swept from the dive site. Hours or days or weeks??? She doesnt mention Dan in the drawing but I think there was mention of Danielle having an infected wound that dan was attending too.

I am Danielle's sister. Please do not get the impression that the reward is the end of our efforts to locate Danielle. The reward is an incentive for continuing the search in and on the islands. We (the family) are still contributing as much as we can financially, intellectually, and emotionally to the search.

My sincere and heartfelt thanks to all of you who are giving time, money, advice and prayers during our living nightmare.

Sharon.

 

[saildiver]

Search update-search efforts were recently hampered by rough seas,but resumed again yesterday.Efforts on land and sea are focusing on the NW region of Vanua Levu and off shore islands.The search group is diligently searching this area as it was not searched previously(because the daytime wind direction at the time they became lost was blowing from the SW)-However,the wind intensity picked up as the day went on , and the wind direction may have shifted as a front went through(no one knows what direction it was blowing in the middle of the night).The searchers are one-pointed in their dedication,and they belive they could very well be alive if they made landfall. The searchers also appreciate your support.Once again ,I'd like to thank Ben Davison and the staff at Undercurrent, all the donors who have given and are giving-who are making this search possible (sorry that we may not have been able to personally thank some of you who sent donations straight to the bank-THANKS now!),to Scubaboard for making this forum available to help Dan and Danielle,and to everyone else who has advised, counseled ,or helped in any way-you know who you are.We hope and pray that they are found alive and well-and that the searchers incur no harm.Our hearts go out to both families and friends during this difficult time .....Saildiver

 

[jepuskar]

I have never seen a search go on for so long for anyone. I hope it gives answers and possible signs of life!!

 

[rhino61]

This forum seems to be getting quiet, I hope you all haven't given up? Come on, keep trying, any ideas, any new news? Here's some pictures of Dan & Danielle to keep you motivated ( Click on photo for larger view )
Rhino

 

[medic_diver45]

Rhino,
I hate to be a negative voice, and I honestly hope that we see a positive outcome to this whole situation- nothing would please me more- but I think the reason this forum has gone remarkably silent as of late is due to the realization that the ending we are all wanting so badly is become more and more of a pipe dream with every passing day. The sad truth is that no amount of money, time or effort is likely to bring these two wonderful people back to us.

The odds are likely that they have been beyond our help from the beginning, but still expended all the efforts at our disposal in a full out effort to rescue or recover them, if for nothing more than to allow the families a chance to give them a proper burial and because it is what most of us would want done for ourselves if we were lost.

I'm in the business (at least in my spare time) of saving lives and property, so I am the last one to give up on a rescue operation. But there comes a point in any search, at which one must realize that all that has been done is all that can be done. It is not easy to look people who are deadset on a rescue (or even a recovery) and tell them, "We have to stop. We've done all we can." Those words ring so hollow and empty that they are almost cliched in times like this but they are either fitting or fast approaching that point in this case. My sincerest condolences go out to both Dan and Danielle's families.

I sincerely hope I am wrong in my predictions.....

I don't know what else to say, so I will shut up now.

 

[rhino61]

You may be right Steve,but the fact that nothing has been found of Dan's, the fact that danielle's Bc was found, Dan's skills as a diver etc. I think it's "possible " that they are still alive, eating fish, crays, Goat, Coconuts, iguana & maybe the odd turtle. Until bodies have been found, there's still hope.It's all a bit strange in some way but i don't know why? For some reason I feel maybe they are in the North west.

 

[smlnd]

Hello,

One thing that I wonder about is, what was learned by finding Danielle’s gear where it was found? I think that I read that her stuff was found about 70 miles away and not in the direction expected. Is that true? Did that help the searchers? Was that area searched? Is there anything about the manner in which her gear turned up that raises questions? Can currents explain the path of the gear?

I think that I read that parts of her BC were missing. Did it look beaten apart or disassembled? Was her exposure suit found? What else was found? Could some of her gear (or his) have been taken by others and not turned in? Is there anyone here knowledgeable on the investigations or these topics?

Is anyone still there looking in the direction or around where her gear was found?

BC

 

[MaryMuir]

Danielle's BCD was found in the northern Yasawas (east side), which is exactly the direction expected, because the main current through the Bligh Waters runs west north west. Nothing else of hers was found. Nothing of Dan's was found.

Danielle's BCD was found in the water near shore. However, it was missing the cover to the dump valve. The straps were undone, so it appeared to have been ditched. There was a little scraping from the coral, and the mouthpieces to both the regulator and the octopus were quite damaged. Mike Dennis inspected the gear, and he couldn't tell if they were bitten through or torn up on the coral. There was no evidence of shark bite. The BCD was apparently in good working condition when Danielle went into the water, as she had used it on her first dive with no problems.

The BCD was found by a villager out fishing on the local reef, and was taken back to the village. From there it was turned over to the Fiji Police, who then started a fresh search around the Yasawas. Nothing further was found. With a large reward being offered, we would expect anything found in the area to be turned in.

There was a woman's bathing suit found somewhere in the Yasawas, and the police inquired if it was Danielle's, but it wasn't hers.

The BCD was turned in to the police 12 days after Dan and Danielle went missing. We don't know how long it was in the village before that. It's now been a whole month since that BCD was turned in, with no further news.

The water conditions at the time Dan and Danielle disappeared were rough seas, high winds, and strong currents. Those conditions are a significant factor when you are talking about people in the water, as opposed to a life raft. :-(

 

[saildiver]

We were taking our sailboat out of the water this weekend and the owner of the marina, and a dear friend, was asking about D & D. He related a story of a couple he knows who were sailing, I think, in the Caribbean in the late 1990's and their boat was overtaken by thieves. They were set adrift in their liferaft and the current took them about 40 miles outside of the perimeter of the search area. They ended up on a 2 acre island that actually had a grapefruit tree! Anyway, after 2 1/2 years, they were found by a man in a power boat who had engine problems and drifted to this island. The husband offered to fix the man's engine in exchange for their return to civilization. Neither one of these people had survival skills training. I know being adrift in a liferaft is different than just being afloat, but it again gave me hope that if Dan and Danielle made it to land, they can survive.

 

[SueMermaid]

That's the most incredible story I have ever heard. Do you know of a news story that tells that tale? :11: