A two-day underwater search operation for a British diver who went missing in Dauin, Negros Oriental on 22 April has been called off by the Philippine Coast Guard.
Its scuba team and and other volunteer divers had been trying until yesterday (24 April) to locate 44-year-old Mark David Morris.
The Coast Guard stated that its coastal patrols would be continuing surface operations over a wide area in the hope of finding the missing man – though national police have also raised some doubt about whether Morris had gone diving at all.
A series of underwater searches had been carried out by the local and provincial Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Offices (DRRMO), the Bureau of Fire Protection and a variety of volunteer divers, including professionals from resorts and centres in the area.
Southerly currents described as “moderate to strong” had continued while they were trying to locate Morris, and by 23 April the operation was already being referred to as one of search and recovery.
Not missed till morning
Dauin police reported that Morris had left his rented apartment at around 3pm Tuesday, after contacting a local friend to tell him that he was going diving alone.
This report referred to “freediving”, although because of a number of official references to “scuba-diving” it remains unclear whether Morris had been intending to scuba-dive, freedive or snorkel. Social media pages indicate that he was a scuba diver, and the Coast Guard has referred to his “scuba gear” being missing from the apartment.
Morris’ wife Emily Tan Fern, 42, a Singapore resident, was reported to have been asleep when he left the apartment, and it was only at 8am the following day that she realised he was gone and called the police, prompting the start of the searches.
Morris had told his friend that he was going to a beach fronting the Lalao Beach Resort in Dauin, but the police have said that because nobody had witnessed him entering the sea, they were also having to explore the possibility that he had not gone diving in the first place.
divernet.com
