SEBASTIAN, Florida (12 Aug 2006) -- Authorities searched Saturday for the body of a University of Central Florida graduate student who never emerged from a dive into the Atlantic Ocean after a 300-pound sea turtle. Boyd Lyon, 37, of Melbourne Beach, dove after the turtle into murky waters 400 yards offshore Thursday afternoon about three miles north of the Sebastian Inlet, authorities said. He was wearing a wet suit, weight belt, flippers and mask, but no snorkel or air tank. The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Friday night. Broward County divers joined the Brevard Sheriff's Office in its search Saturday, said Brevard sheriff's spokesman Lt. Andrew Walters. "We're waiting for the discovery of his body," Walters said. Llewelyn Ehrhart, a UCF professor who was also aboard the 19-foot research vessel, called 911 after Lyon was missing for four minutes. | | Lyon was supposed to jump onto the turtle, grab onto its shell and bring it to the surface where other researchers could tag it. "It did appear he grasped the front and back (of the turtle). He went under the water and something went terribly wrong," Ehrhart said. Lyon was described as an experienced diver who had hand-captured dozens of sea turtles for tagging in the Galapagos Islands, Australia, California and the Florida Keys. He was researching adult male green sea turtles for a master's degree; unlike adult females of the species, the males never come to land. SCUBA FORUMDISCUSS THIS TOPIC - Dive in and have your say at Scuba Forum |
