Coast Guard ends search for missing diver

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) – Coast Guard officials have ended their search efforts for a 53-year-old male diver who’s been missing since Saturday. This comes after two long days and several eyes and radar on the sea and in the air.

“We look for the exceptions in the water. I know what a bird looks like, I know what a turtle looks like, a signaling light, a mirror … Those are the exceptions that I’m looking for – anything that can catch my eye. If they start moving, you might see that and say that’s definitely a person,” said Commander David Saunders of the U.S. Coast Guard air unit at Mobile Regional Airport.

Saunders’ Coast Guard unit received a call on Saturday about noon of a missing 53-year-old diver wearing a black wet suit.

“He was an experienced diver. He had thousands of dives under his belt, and he did have three yellow tanks on his back, so he did have some air available to him if he was still underwater. He had a little bit of time to try and survive,” said Saunders.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s HC-144 Ocean Sentry was airborne in about 15 minutes following the report of the missing diver and searching an area about 20 miles south of Pensacola near the USS Oriskany dive spot.

The Coast Guard dropped a couple of electronic bouys that monitor the ocean current and patrolled a seven-mile perimeter surrounding the dive site.

“In the aircraft, we’re probably traveling about 150 miles per hour, two and a half miles a minute, looking for, basically, a head in the water,” said Saunders.

Their efforts didn’t turn up any information but could resume if news comes to light about the diver.

Dive instructors from Gulf Coast Dive in Mobile shed some light on the USS Oriskany dive site for FOX10 News.

“It’s big. It’s like diving an apartment building … It’s huge,” said Lawren McCaghren manager of Gulf Coast Divers, “It’s a vertical wreck. The top of it is at 80 feet, the deck 150 feet or so, and where the ship touches the bottom it’s over 250 feet.”

“Many first time divers to Oriskany tend to dive deeper than they planned. It’s visually misleading,” said McCaghren.

McCaghren said a diver should at least have advanced skills before attempting the Oriskany site. Some suspect the mising diver was expolring the interior of the ship.

“Not only does it add depth aspect too, but it’s also an overhead environment. If there’s an issue, you’re inside a wreck. You can’t swim straight up,” said McCaghren.