Divers think victim was hunting for clams in Yaquina Bay
A Toledo man died Saturday while scuba diving in Yaquina Bay near the south jetty.
Newport police responded to a diver in distress call at about 6:24 p.m. on June 26 after Larry M. Johnson Sr., 66, of Toledo did not return to the surface while diving in the bay with a family member.
Sgt. Tom Simpson of the Newport Police Department said an officer responded to the scene when a bystander contacted 9-1-1 after hearing Johnson’s family members discussing his disappearance.
“Within minutes of the officer getting there, we realized we had a working incident,” Simpson said. “The information we gleaned was he was last seen going into the water at about four.”
Officers immediately began contacting the U.S. Coast Guard and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office marine patrol deputies for assistance.
Simpson said three of the four Newport officers on duty, including himself, searched among the rocks along the jetty for Johnson.
Johnson’s family members had asked a local diving instructor who was diving in the area to assist with the search. The diver located Johnson in about 30 feet of water shortly after the officers arrived. Simpson and a member of the Coast Guard began CPR on Johnson when he was brought to shore. Newport Fire Department and Pacific West Ambulance personnel then took over efforts to revive him. Simpson said resuscitation efforts lasted about 15 minutes before paramedics, in communication with an emergency room doctor, pronounced Johnson dead at the scene.
The Lincoln County Medical Examiner’s office said on Tuesday the cause of death was accidental drowning.
Scott Hatfield, owner of South Beach Scuba, said divers searching the area the next day speculated Johnson stayed down too long while hunting clams, after they found a bag of clams they believed belonged to him.
The average dive time on a tank of air is about 30 minutes, depending on water depth and the amount of physical exertion by the diver. Divers are equipped with a console showing compass heading and air pressure remaining. For safety, divers swim as a team and try to maintain visual contact with each other, but the limited visibility in Yaquina Bay makes it difficult to see a partner, Hatfield said.
