Search and Rescue - Scubaboard Staff Member - Northernone - Missing in Cozumel

[Ron Lee]

If anyone monitoring this site is involved in the air search coordination, I suggest contacting the US Coast Guard to get their advice on how to conduct an aerial search. This could include altitude, scanning techniques, lighting angle considerations etc. There is no need to reinvent the wheel when they probably know the best way to search for a person floating in the water.

A similar underwater search from the wall to the shore for a long distance down current is also warranted.

Such an underwater search might place people at increased risk of being left in open water. Having a PLB along with other visibility enhancing aids (surface marker buoy, mirrors, flashlights, dye packets, etc) should be considered for all search divers at elevated risk.


Example of sea dye marker below
Sea Dye Markers – Sea Rescue Devices by Presto Dyechem

This one looks much better:
Divesoft Fluorescein Marker Dye

 

[Timmy V]

I have shared the go fund me page with the local dive shops in Ottawa.

 

[Clayton122]

Donated. I was just there a few weeks ago myself and had some amazing dives. Stories like this bring it all back to the fact that what we do has a danger factor to it. No dive is routine.

 

[Sloeber]

Brief update.

SAR is up in the air searching today. They have provided us this map -

The director of the operation says they are concentrating on the YELLOW line today as "experience" tells him its most likely he is following that path. If SAR does not find Cameron today, they will switch their search area to the ORANGE line tomorrow. The BLUE/GREEN line is a second option for today, but unlikely.

The family has also chartered a helicopter out of Cancun to search for us. At the present time all sight-seeing planes we can locate are booked full and unable to assist. So we are still searching for planes. If anyone can help on this it would be greatly appreciated.

I have arranged a team of CCR divers to dive tomorrow at approximately 12 noon to ride depths from 40-70m for as much of the wall as is possible. We do have PLBs for each diver.

 

[Wookie]

If he is on the orange line, Mine hunting squadron HM-15 or HM-14 will see him. They have all kinds of groovy instrumentation in those birds, and are here in Key West for exercises...

 

[tursiops]

I just spoke to a friend in the USCG R&D Center, where the SAROPS models are developed and used.
He suggested this site: EDS Viewer. This is the data the USCG uses, and probably the Mexican CG too; the Mexicans also have the SAROPS model, but not the latest version.

For example:

and this time series for the location of the circle west of Cozumel:

 

[DandyDon]

The North Atlantic Gyre, known locally as the Caribbean Current, is what powers the south to north current we all know from diving the channel there. From the north of the island, most of the current is expected to go north, then east thru the Florida Straits north of Cuba, with some current expected to go east south of Cuba, and some west towards Holbox island.

By Jack · talk · - cropped from Image:Ocean currents 1943 (borderless).png, Public Domain, File:North Atlantic Gyre.png - Wikimedia Commons

 

[chillyinCanada]

Have you contacted Belize fly tour ops?

 

[lowviz]

Donated. Keep the airplanes in the air.

 

[tursiops]

The North Atlantic Gyre, known locally as the Caribbean Current, is what powers the south to north current we all know from diving the channel there. From the north of the island, most of the current is expected to go north, then east thru the Florida Straits north of Cuba, with some current expected to go east south of Cuba, and some west towards Holbox island.

View attachment 510475
By Jack · talk · - cropped from Image:Ocean currents 1943 (borderless).png, Public Domain, File:North Atlantic Gyre.png - Wikimedia Commons

This was a good picture.....in 1943. A lot has been learned since then. One of the local/regional variations NOT shown in that old chart is the Loop Current that may or may not exist, with a variable location that depends kin part on the flow through the Yucatan Strait. The chart I showed in post #176 shows that not only is the Loop Current in play right now, it is pretty much hugging the Campeche Banks north of the Yucatan, which in turn very much affects where the surface currents are going. One searches based on recent information....and it looks like the yellow line in post #176 starts out pretty well....