ISLA DE MALPELO, Columbia (8 May 2003) -- Boulder scuba and travel shop owner David Cain is missing following a Sunday morning dive about 300 miles off the west coast of Colombia. Cain, 58, didn't resurface after taking the first dive of the day on his second day leading a group from his shop, Scuba Joe, to explore the remote tropical waters near the deserted Isla de Malpelo. Cain, who has lived in Boulder since attending graduate school in 1967, also co-owns Boulder's Cain Travel with his wife, Linda. He is an Oklahoma City native. Both the Colombian and U.S. coast guards are searching by helicopter and sonar for Cain, said Michael, his 32-year-old son, on Monday afternoon. "At this point, there is still an active search," Cain's son said. Cain left April 30 with seven divers for Costa Rica, then sailed 39 hours to Malpelo, home to fragile nature preserves. Cain, who became a certified scuba diver in 1962, had traveled to Malpelo two years earlier, his son said. Cain opened a new Scuba Joe training center at 3015 Bluff St. last spring, making it Boulder County's first dive shop with an in-house pool. Cain's Sunday morning dive began about 9:30 near the southern tip of the island, which is described by Dive World Travel's Web site as being home to underwater creatures such as hammerhead sharks, turtles, barracuda, humpback whales and whale sharks. | | Malpelo Island Cain's diving partner said that at about 65 feet, Cain signaled that he was heading back to the surface. "His buddy watched him begin his ascent," Cain's son said. "But somewhere between 10 and 20 feet, something happened and he never resurfaced." A search began about 10:30 a.m. that day. The news was relayed by satellite phone to Cain's family. "We're pretty much in a wait-and-see situation," Michael Cain said. "Certainly we're hopeful." SOURCE - Daily Camera |
