Diver Forgotten At Sea

[dArKeR]

A recreational diver forgotten at sea by a boat crew drifted five hours and prayed for his life before a Boy Scout on an excursion aboard a century-old ship spotted him.

Dan Carlock, 45, was left by his diving group Sunday as he drifted for hours about seven miles offshore. He noted the time of day on his small, waterproof writing slate and took photographs of himself to document that he'd made it to the surface.

Carlock, a former Boy Scout, recalled his survival manual: Stay calm. Think methodically. Still, he worried about how his parents would react to his death.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/04/29/national/main614644.shtml

[MichaelUK]

1. Hang on

Diver, in full gear, 7 miles offshore. And he floated about. Why didn't he swim for it? He should have been able to see the land.

[Ready4Change]

5. Probably couldn't see land

His eyes were only a foot or so above sea level. Probably couldn't see land. With all his gear he probably had plenty of flotation, and likely good thermal protection, so if the waters weren't cold he could have lasted a while longer.

But even if he knew the direction, swimming 7 miles in open ocean is a daunting task, and could make finding him difficult should his "friends" notifiy the Coast Gaurd and start a search.

(Edit: sea level, not SEE level. :eyes: My grammar school teacher must be rolling in her grave.)

[MichaelUK]

7. yeah, but

he's in full gear. he should have had a floation buoy with him. His gear would probably have been multi-coloured.

A more experienced diver might correct me, but I'd be swimming for it.

[commander bunnypants]

2. can you spell litigation

I would be hiring a lawyer. and I usually despise lawyers.

DDQM

[MuseRider]

3. 3 dive buddies

and no one waited for him to clear his ears? They did not notice he was not with them? Not my kind of dive buddy. Dive buddies are there to prevent this, and other things, from happening. Hmmm, me thinks he needs new friends.

[Ready4Change]

6. That's my thought as well.

I'm not a diver, but many of my friends are, and I get the impression that you just don't go diving without clearly assigning who is with who, and no one goes diving without a buddy.

I just can't fathom 3 people "forgetting" him for 5 hours. The only question to me is: Why did they leave him behind?

[buddy22600]

4. dude trhat would totaly suck

[Teddy_Salad]

8. Similar thing supposedly happened in Australia

I say 'supposedly' because there has, as far as I know, never been any definite findings on this.

It happened a few years back in Australia, an American couple went on a chartered diving trip and it wasn't until days later that someone noticed they never came back.

But the story gets a little murky and suspicious when someone else says they spotted this couple like the day after their diving trip on a remote beach.
Some at the time were saying that they staged their own disappearance in order to fake their deaths. Possible financial troubles back home or something.

If my memory serves me correct though, I do believe that the diving company was convicted of negligence for their 'deaths'.

I dunno.....I just remember it being an odd story at the time and if anyone can enlighten me on this, I'd appreciate it.

[jobycom]

9. I didn't know they were American, I thought they were Australian

The tour company left them on the Reef. For months it was a DB Cooper mystery, with all of Australia looking for them. There were reports that they had been seen in various places in Australia. There was one documentary that was being filmed in a location where someone claimed to have seen them, and as they were filming a car wen tby with two people who looked like them. The documentary crew chased them down, but it wasn't them.

Later, some gear washed up on shore, and their diving board with a note that they were left behind, and the time and date. I believe they said they were going to swim for shore. I guess that could have been part of a hoax if they really planned it out in advance, but they would have had to have a way to get to shore. Most likely they died.

[Teddy_Salad]

10. American

No, they were American

Thomas and Eileen Lonergan. Just found this story from 1998.

Missing divers 'unlawfully killed'

The skipper of an Australian diving boat has been charged with manslaughter for accidentally leaving an American couple stranded on the Great Barrier Reef early this year.

Coroner Noel Nunan, ending an inquest into the disappearance of divers Thomas and Eileen Lonergan from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, said the two had drowned or been killed by sharks after being left at St Crispin Reef off north Queensland state in late January.

He formally charged skipper Jack Nairn, whose boat took the divers to the reef, with their unlawful killing.

More on this here...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/190026.stm