SUVA, Fiji (17 Sep 2004) -- Fiji police have finally confirmed that scuba equipment found at Yasawa-i-Rara belongs to missing diver Danielle Gibbons. Gibbons, 27, and PADI instructor Dan Grenier, 54, who owns Crystal Divers, went missing two and a half weeks ago while scuba diving off the Rakiraki coast of Viti Levu. Fiji media has published several false reports stating that Grenier and Gibbons were planning a six-hour dive. According to the Fiji Times, the divers planned to start their dive at 8:00 am and told the dive boat captain to come back and pick them up six hours later at 2:00 pm. As originally reported by CDNN on September 2, Grenier and Gibbons were drift diving and planned to ascend down current where the dive boat was waiting to pick them up. When they did not surface as planned, the boat captain started a missing diver search, failed to find the divers and then notified police of a missing diver emergency. The police search was officially called off last weekend, however, it was reactivated three days later when authorities learned that villagers in Yasawa-i-Rara found scuba diving equipment including a BC, tank and regulator. After examining the equipment, officials are cautiously speculating that the missing divers may still be alive. Police told CDNN that there was no evidence of a shark attack or drowning. | | Danielle Gibbons went missing along with PADI instructor Dan Grenier, owner of Crystal Divers. Gibbons' family in Australia, which has blasted the Australian government for inaction, has announced that it will pay a reward to anyone who finds the missing divers or their scuba diving equipment. © CDNN - CYBER DIVER NEWS NETWORK |
