CHANNEL ISLANDS, UK (8 Sep 2006) -- It seemed like one of those salty, heart-warming tales: the story of a missing scuba diver who spent more than two days being battered by the sea before miraculously turning up alive just as his rescuers had given up all hope. Matthew Harvey, a diver from Guernsey, had apparently been swept out to open water after being hit by a boat, then clung, shivering and disoriented, to cliffs before being forced back into the waves, where he was finally found by a passing yacht. The story was eagerly picked up by the British press. It made the front page of the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday and yesterday the Times included a detailed graphic illustrating how Mr Harvey's adventure unfolded. Broadcasters around the world joined the party, NBC in America for one wondering if he might have been saved by a pod of friendly dolphins. But yesterday police in Guernsey spoiled it all by revealing Mr Harvey's adventure may not be all it seemed. Police say he did not spend more than 50 hours lost at sea, nor did the married museum worker save himself by clinging to cliffs. And dolphins did not splash to his rescue. Chief Inspector Ruari Hardy said a member of the public said he had spotted Mr Harvey on the British mainland on Sunday, when the diver says he was lying "completely exhausted" in a gulley on the south coast of Guernsey. The police have been told he returned to Guernsey by ferry, got back into the water and waited to be rescued. Ch Insp Hardy said: "The allegation is that he left the island by ferry on Saturday lunchtime after going for a dive around 8.30am and returned on Monday at about 5.30pm. This is an ongoing investigation and we are examining whether there are any possible charges to be faced." An air and sea search involving lifeboat crews, coastguards and hundreds of local people was called off on Monday afternoon and his family was told Mr Harvey was probably dead. In the early evening, however, he was plucked from the water. His father, Dan, called it a miracle and was captured on local television tearfully hugging the couple who found his son. | | Before authorities finally announced the story was a hoax, news agencies around the world published detailed graphics documenting ocean currents and added embellishments such as dolphins coming to the aid of a "struggling and semi-conscious" Matthew Harvey... The story hit the headlines on Wednesday. Later that day, Mr Harvey released a statement in which he gave details of his supposed ordeal. In short, he said he had been swept around the south coast of Guernsey, hung on to some cliffs for a while, and then been swept back. The Guardian, it must be admitted, carried a brief account of Mr Harvey's version of events on its website, though without any florid details or mentions of dolphins. Ch Insp Hardy said: "We need to inform all media that the circumstances surrounding Mr Harvey's disappearance are not accurate. In summary, he was not missing at sea. He has been interviewed and his family kept fully informed." Neither Mr Harvey nor his family were available for comment. |
