Last update: August 28, 2006 11:58 PM
Equipment malfunction suspected in diver's drowning near Crosby
A Chaska man who was part of an effort to help a man with muscular dystrophy realize a dream of diving in the ocean was identified Monday as the victim of an apparent drowning in north-central Minnesota.
Jere Thorne, 47, had been diving Sunday in an old pit mine in Crow Wing County near Crosby, Minn., when his equipment apparently malfunctioned, Crow Wing County Sheriff Eric Klang said in a news release. Thorne had been underwater for 10 to 15 minutes.
According to an Internet site documenting the ocean-diving dream of Matthew Johnston of Woodbury, Thorne had signed on to provide the recreational vehicle that would be used later this year to take Johnston diving in the Florida Keys.
"Matt is a mover and a shaker," Thorne wrote on a related website. "We are all the better for being part of this."
Thorne's family declined to comment Monday night. Efforts to reach Johnston and his family were unsuccessful.
ANTHONY LONETREE
©2006 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
Chaska diver inspired others
A skilled diver died before he had the chance to help another man with his diving dreams.
Anthony Lonetree, Star Tribune
Among his Twin Cities peers, Jere Thorne was a cutting-edge scuba diver known for using new technology to go deeper, and for longer.
His skill and generosity also made him an inspiration to Matt Johnston, a Woodbury man with muscular dystrophy who planned a trip to the Florida Keys to use Thorne's expertise to fulfill his own dream of ocean diving.
On Sunday, Thorne, 47, of Chaska, died in an apparent drowning accident in an old mine pit near Crosby, Minn., apparently after his high-tech equipment failed.
His death is a "real loss to the diving community," said Drew Gerling, a diving instructor from Plymouth, who described Thorne as a "super nice guy" who was among Johnston's biggest champions.
The accident means that the Woodbury man now probably will have to forego riskier technology for a more conventional dive, Gerling said.
But Johnston definitely plans to proceed with the Florida trip this fall: "That's the least I can do for [Jere]."
Testing limits
Thorne and Johnston met Feb. 18 during a fundraiser for Johnston at Underwater Adventures Aquarium at the Mall of America in Bloomington. Johnston, 29, too old for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, dreamed for decades of diving in open water, and was raising money to develop the means by which he could have a ventilator underwater with him.
The next day, he said, Thorne e-mailed him, volunteering to find a way to make the technology happen. He also offered Johnston the use of his motor home for the trip.
Thorne himself became so inspired by the experience of working with Johnston that he spent two weekends in Chicago learning how to teach handicapped people to dive, Johnston said. "Jere definitely was a hero to me in many ways."
On Sunday, the Chaska man's visit to the old Louise mine pit in Crow Wing County was part of a "fun dive" organized by a Maple Grove dive center, said Gerling, who was not there. Abandoned mines are popular diving spots, he said, because water is clear and often there will be trees submerged, making for interesting viewing.
Thorne died after being underwater for 10 to 15 minutes, authorities said.
On Tuesday, the county Sheriff's Office said it had no new details about the apparent equipment malfunction. But Gerling said he had learned through diving sources that Thorne was using the "rebreather" technology that would be part of the system being planned for Johnston -- although not the system itself.
That system, combining a rebreather and ventilator, has been assembled, but had yet to be tested, Gerling said. Now, he added, it will probably be set aside.
For the use of that technology, Gerling said, Thorne is "irreplaceable."
Anthony Lonetree 612-673-4455
alonetree@startribune.com
©2006 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
