Fatality working on pond drain - Pike County, Illinois

[DandyDon]

Authorities say Winchester man died in scuba accident

The death Saturday of a 79-year-old Scott County man was the result of a scuba diving...

www.myjournalcourier.com

FISHHOOK — The death Saturday of a 79-year-old Scott County man was the result of a scuba diving accident, authorities said Monday.

Gerald S. Stocker, 79, of Winchester was performing maintenance on a drain in a pond in rural Pike County when the accident occurred, according to Sheriff David Greenwood.

Deputies were called at 12:37 p.m. Saturday to a location in Fairmont Township. They were assisted by rescue teams from East Pike, Baylis and Griggsville fire departments, according to Sheriff David Greenwood, who also is the county coroner.
Authorities are continuing the investigation.
Funeral arrangements for Stocker were pending Monday at Daws Funeral Home in Winchester.

 

[greeniguana]

79?

 

[Tracerbullet]

79?

Is 79 to old to dive?

 

[greeniguana]

Is 79 to old to dive?

No. But maybe for pond drain maintenance work?

 

[undrwater]

Age may not be related - the story is very light on details. Still, the number does jump out a bit.

 

[SlugLife]

79?

My initial theories, with minimal details, are:

• Random medical incident.
• When he cleared the pond-drain, it causes enough current that he couldn't escape.

I'd also be curious if he had any commercial-dive training. Seeing people engaged in commercial work without appropriate training makes me nervous, because it seems "easy" but that's until you start considering you may be dealing with cables, moving boat, falling hazards, suction, etc which may not be obvious or intuitive.

Is 79 to old to dive?

No; just more likely to have a medical incident of some sort as you age. I'll probably still be diving when I'm that age if I'm in decent health.

 

[Rollin Bonz]

Delta effing p

 

[DandyDon]

Excerpting from his obituary at Gerald "Jerry" Stephen Stocker - View Obituary & Service Information

Jerry was employed by Pikeland Community School District 10 for many years. He was a lifetime member of National Association of Underwater Instructors. He instructed numerous students over the years. Jerry was a certified cave diver and obtained his Mariners Captain license in 2007.

 

[SlugLife]

Interesting. I'm slightly less inclined to say it was him doing something beyond his training. However, it's not impossible. For example, Dive Talk has numerous videos where some instructor who lacks cave-dive training decides to go into a cave, gets lost, and dies. I don't see commercial-dive training listed, although this is obviously an obituary, not a resume. Seems like a cool guy based on the obituary.

 

[sea_ledford]

@Rollin Bonz beat me to it.

Unless you actually know what you are doing, STAY THE F*** AWAY FROM DRAINS!