JUPITER BEACH, Florida (30 Aug 2008) — Rescuers found the body of a scuba diver who went missing on Friday. Eva Schwartz, 51, of Jupiter, disappeared on Friday morning while scuba diving with her fiance and another friend off the Blue Tang dive boat, which is based at Blowing Rocks Marina. Authorities said the woman ascended alone while the fiance and friend continued diving. But Schwartz did not return to the Blue Tang dive boat and may never have reached the surface. The dive boat crew called for help and authorities launched a full-scale search at about 10:00am on Friday morning. Rescuers found the body earlier today east of Jupiter Inlet at a depth of about 30 meters (100 feet). Assisting in the search were: Two rescue boat crews from Coast Guard Station Lake Worth, FloridaAn HH-65C Dolphin helicopter crew and an HU-25 Falcon jet crew from Coast Guard Air Station MiamiCoast Guard Cutter CormorantCoast Guard Auxiliary rescue boat crewsFlorida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission boat crewBuddy system During entry-level certification courses, divers are taught to utilize the buddy system, which requires two or more divers to remain together at all times including descent, ascent and surface swim back to a dive boat or beach entry point. | | "In this case, it appears the victim was an experienced diver who died because standard safe diving protocol was ignored," said CDNN Managing Editor Freeman Washington. "It is absolutely imperative that novice and experienced scuba divers not become complacent about the inherent risks of scuba diving," urged Washington. "We need to be vigilant, we need to follow the rules and we need to look out for each other at depth and at the surface where many divers encounter problems." |
