Eugene scuba diver missing after not surfacing on Oregon Coast
A Eugene scuba diver is missing after he did not surface while diving near the mouth of the Umpqua River and Pacific Ocean.
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Unknown Diver missing in Oregon
- Thread starter ibj40
- Start date
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Looks like he was certified in June 2023. He has a youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@jeffharrisscuba
Biotech Diver
Contributor
His latest video posted the day before he went missing discussed an issue with his exhaust diaphragm and breathing in water. While it seems unlikely to be a direct cause of his disappearance due to redundant air supply, it's worth considering.
Is it now considered a recovery rather than a rescue? Unsure of the duration one can stay out in a drysuit without risking hypothermia. Hoping for the best, that he drifted away, and they'll locate him soon.
Is it now considered a recovery rather than a rescue? Unsure of the duration one can stay out in a drysuit without risking hypothermia. Hoping for the best, that he drifted away, and they'll locate him soon.
bradmond
Registered
Doesn't say if he was alone or if there was someone in the boat waiting for him to surface. Feel bad for his family and friends. Hope he is found.
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- Location
- Port Orchard, Washington State
- # of dives
- 1000 - 2499
The USCG has a survivorship model but it's not very reliable and doesn't account for drysuit levels of exposure protection. Along this stretch of coast, the (only) realistic survival scenario is being on the beach with a cliff headland preventing you from getting to a road or help. In-water survival for 5 days is not possible due to dehydration.
PNWMaverick
New
Hello, local diver to this incident. We had called off the dive that was planned for the day Jeffery went missing.
We do not understand what happened or why he was even in the water. The Umpqua river and bay were brown-brown and we had serious swells in the bay with waves breaking over the jetty that weekend. We typically dive ~6ft-12ft visibility here, it is cold and dark. On the day this tragic incident took place there was 0 visibility. Per reporting he entered the water about an hour prior to high tide, which is a little early if he was on a single tank. As he could end up fighting ocean currents to return if he ran low before that slack tide an hour later, depending on entry/exit points. The low-to-high exchange at the time he entered was only 4.5 feet while the high-to-low exchange was around 8 feet.
Search and recovery efforts were greatly hampered by the conditions.
While I didn't recognize him, we are a close diving community here. In his last video he is even wearing a new hat from our LDS.
This is tragic in every way and was entirely preventable.
We do not understand what happened or why he was even in the water. The Umpqua river and bay were brown-brown and we had serious swells in the bay with waves breaking over the jetty that weekend. We typically dive ~6ft-12ft visibility here, it is cold and dark. On the day this tragic incident took place there was 0 visibility. Per reporting he entered the water about an hour prior to high tide, which is a little early if he was on a single tank. As he could end up fighting ocean currents to return if he ran low before that slack tide an hour later, depending on entry/exit points. The low-to-high exchange at the time he entered was only 4.5 feet while the high-to-low exchange was around 8 feet.
Search and recovery efforts were greatly hampered by the conditions.
While I didn't recognize him, we are a close diving community here. In his last video he is even wearing a new hat from our LDS.
This is tragic in every way and was entirely preventable.
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Body found on shore...
ktvl.com
Sheriff: Body of missing Eugene man located on Douglas County shore
GARDINER, Ore. - The body of a Eugene man who went missing after scuba diving in the Umpqua River has been located.On Monday, February 12, 2024, around 8:45 a.m
ktvl.com
LightBrownPillow
Registered
Thanks for the update, very tragic to see enthusiasm lead to a loss like this. Always dive with friends, it's more fun and they can see situations you might not consider.
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