Overview
- The U.S. Coast Guard received a Mayday call about a missing diver at approximately 11:30 a.m. Friday, triggering a coordinated search.
- Florida Fish and Wildlife, the Coast Guard and the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office deployed vessels and aerial assets to waters about 6 to 7 miles north-northeast of the Fort Pierce Inlet near Avalon State Park.
- Friends of the missing diver left the inlet at about 1 p.m. to help and civilian divers located the diver on the ocean floor at roughly 55 feet at about 4:10 p.m.
- The diver was recovered, pronounced deceased and transported to Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce, and the sheriff's Criminal Investigations Division is conducting an ongoing probe into the circumstances.
- Authorities have withheld the diver's identity and cause of death pending investigation and notifications, and officials say forensic work and family contact are the next steps.