ExPat shore diver missing - Cozumel

[DandyDon]

The article mentions him diving at the south end, but El Cantil apartments are on Melgar (front street) downtown near 15th street south aka Ave Xel-Ha. Otherwise, it's seldom that local accidents actually make the news on Google, and we're more likely to hear about them from visitors and FB.

Man remains missing from afternoon dive

Cozumel, Q.R. — A diver that took to the waters on the south end of the island on Thursday remains missing.

A 65-year-old American man, who with his wife have visited the island of Cozumel for more than 25 years, has been missing since Thursday. Port and Maritime authorities confirmed they have been searching for the man but still have no trace as to his whereabouts.

Reports say that Mark Kay accessed the sea outside his El Cantil apartment complex at approximately 1:30 p.m. It was around 5:00 p.m. when his wife notified port staff that her husband had yet to return from diving.

Secretariat staff of the Navy of Mexico joined in the search for the diver, but have yet to locate him.

A similar situation occurred in February of this year when an experienced female diver took to the waters alone. Her remains were spotted four days later.

 

[Brules]

Still no word or news.

 

[DandyDon]

Still no word or news.

One lady on a FB Cozumel forum got pissed when I asked. I was hoping he'd been rescued up north.

 

[TexasSecede]

Don, thank you for your hope. Mark Kay is my friend. Spent time with him a few days before this. The last I heard he was seen going over the wall (haven't confirmed that), which is quite far from the El Cantil pier where he started. He likes deep dives and is well-trained; certified Divemaster, been diving for 25+ years. This is now Monday night and he went diving last Thursday afternoon. Please pray for Mark and his wife Lynn and family.

 

[Jayfarmlaw]

Does anyone know what currents were like? 2 weeks ago, We thumbed a shore based night dive on the north end about 5 minutes in due to what I would call tidal surge. (Probably not the correct term) The currents weren't pulling us out or moving north or south, but would push us in a few feet, then pull us back out about the same. By the time we covered less than 50 yards to get back in, we were both exhausted. Had we been further out when we called the dive, we would have been in trouble.

Prayers sent.

Jay

 

[archer1960]

Does anyone know what currents were like? 2 weeks ago, We thumbed a shore based night dive on the north end about 5 minutes in due to what I would call tidal surge. (Probably not the correct term) The currents weren't pulling us out or moving north or south, but would push us in a few feet, then pull us back out about the same. By the time we covered less than 50 yards to get back in, we were both exhausted. Had we been further out when we called the dive, we would have been in trouble.

Prayers sent.

Jay

Yes, surge is the term for what you experienced, and it's very common in my area. There are ways of using it to your advantage if you can swim along the bottom, but doing it in mid-water could be exhausting.

 

[iamrushman]

sorry for the bad and sad news.....