LACONIA, New Hampshire (13 Mar 2004) -- Divers on Friday recovered the body of a Laconia Fire Department diver who disappeared during a practice exercise in Lake Winnipesaukee. The body of Lt. Mark Miller, 43, an 18-year veteran, was found around 1 p.m. Scores of firefighters who helped search for him formed a double line on a dock and saluted as colleagues carried a flag-draped stretcher to a waiting vehicle. Miller, head of the department's diving team, disappeared Thursday afternoon while trying out new diving suits in the icy lake with a fellow firefighter. Fire officials think he may have gotten disoriented and become trapped under the ice. Crews drilled numerous holes through nearly 3 feet of ice on the lake, allowing divers and underwater cameras to search for Miller. More than 20 divers were in the water Friday morning. Crews also walked on the ice and a State Police helicopter flew over the lake. ''Mark was a very, very experienced diver,'' Laconia Fire Chief Ken Erickson said. Miller, who was testing out a new diving suit, and his partner indicated to each other under the water that they would head up, officials said. But the other diver came up alone. Erickson said that, even though Miller had a compass on his suit, he probably came up under the ice and couldn't get out. Miller and his partner were not wearing safety tethers because they did not intend to go under the ice, Erickson said. Rescue crews and divers from throughout the Lakes Region responded to an emergency call for help and searched the water until darkness Thursday, before resuming Friday morning. | | Lt. Mark Miller The site is near the pier the Mt. Washington cruise ship uses in summer and fall. Gov. Craig Benson visited the site Friday morning and said the state is ''blessed'' to have so many hardworking firefighters. ''On a beautiful sunny day like we had today, it is easy to stray beneath the ice,'' Fish and Game Maj. Tim Acerno told The Union Leader on Thursday. ''The sun shines right through it and you can't tell the difference between it and the open water.'' Acerno said some veteran divers hesitate to dive beneath the ice because it is so easy to become disoriented. Miller was married and has three stepchildren. ''We're a big family, here to support each other,'' Erickson said, choking up. SOURCE - Boston Herald |
