One day after the body of a missing diver was found in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Fort Pierce, an expert said Saturday the area is better suited for experienced divers. Eric Breuer, a diving repair technician at Dive Odyssea in Fort Pierce, said divers in the area are generally aware of the challenges posed by the local waters.“Any solo diver knows not to put themselves in a bad situation,” Breuer said.Investigators with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office are still working to determine what happened after a Mayday call earlier in the day from the boat.The U.S. Coast Guard and St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office heard the Mayday call around 11:30 a.m. Multiple agencies, including Florida Fish and Wildlife, civilian divers and the Coast Guard, participated in the search effort. About five hours after the Mayday call, civilian divers who knew the missing diver joined agencies from the Fort Pierce Inlet in the search, which included aerial support. They made contact with the vessel involved approximately 6 to 7 miles north-northeast of the Fort Pierce Inlet, nearly due east of Avalon State Park. Just after 4 p.m., the civilians found the missing diver at the bottom of the ocean, about 55 feet below the surface. A spokesperson for Martin County Fire Rescue confirmed to WPBF 25 News on Sunday, June 28, that Martin County Fire Rescue Lieutenant Daniel DeGrazia was off-duty and responded to the incident on Friday, June 26 to assist with the recovery efforts on his own will for the missing diver in Fort Pierce. Fire Rescue added DeGrazia recovered the body of a missing diver who had drowned.Investigators have not yet confirmed whether the diver was alone at the time of the incident, but a local diving expert said diving alone is typically not advised. “If you have somebody, you’re on the boat and normally you’re carrying a flag or a float ball and the boat, somebody is driving the boat and they can follow you, okay? So they know where you are all the time,” Breuer said.Breuer said that Fort Pierce is typically better suited for experienced divers due to challenging conditions such as low visibility and cooler temperatures.However, he noted that Friday’s conditions were favorable. “We heard there was 50 feet of visibility on the bottom, and it was like 84 degrees on the top,” Breuer said. The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation.Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.
FORT PIERCE, Fla. —
One day after the body of a missing diver was found in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Fort Pierce, an expert said Saturday the area is better suited for experienced divers.
Eric Breuer, a diving repair technician at Dive Odyssea in Fort Pierce, said divers in the area are generally aware of the challenges posed by the local waters.
“Any solo diver knows not to put themselves in a bad situation,” Breuer said.
Investigators with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office are still working to determine what happened after a Mayday call earlier in the day from the boat.
The U.S. Coast Guard and St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office heard the Mayday call around 11:30 a.m. Multiple agencies, including Florida Fish and Wildlife, civilian divers and the Coast Guard, participated in the search effort.
About five hours after the Mayday call, civilian divers who knew the missing diver joined agencies from the Fort Pierce Inlet in the search, which included aerial support.
They made contact with the vessel involved approximately 6 to 7 miles north-northeast of the Fort Pierce Inlet, nearly due east of Avalon State Park.
Just after 4 p.m., the civilians found the missing diver at the bottom of the ocean, about 55 feet below the surface.
A spokesperson for Martin County Fire Rescue confirmed to WPBF 25 News on Sunday, June 28, that Martin County Fire Rescue Lieutenant Daniel DeGrazia was off-duty and responded to the incident on Friday, June 26 to assist with the recovery efforts on his own will for the missing diver in Fort Pierce.
Fire Rescue added DeGrazia recovered the body of a missing diver who had drowned.
Investigators have not yet confirmed whether the diver was alone at the time of the incident, but a local diving expert said diving alone is typically not advised.
“If you have somebody, you’re on the boat and normally you’re carrying a flag or a float ball and the boat, somebody is driving the boat and they can follow you, okay? So they know where you are all the time,” Breuer said.
Breuer said that Fort Pierce is typically better suited for experienced divers due to challenging conditions such as low visibility and cooler temperatures.
However, he noted that Friday’s conditions were favorable.
“We heard there was 50 feet of visibility on the bottom, and it was like 84 degrees on the top,” Breuer said.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation.
Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25
Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here.