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St. Simons Island diver dies during dive in Frederica River
A St. Simons Island man died Monday during a diving trip in the Frederica River.
The body of Jameson “Jay” Gregg Jr., 38, was recovered from the river at around 9 p.m. on Monday near the St. Simons Marina at Gascoigne Bluff on St. Simons Island, Capt. Chris Hodge of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division said.
The DNR received a call at around 6 p.m. on Monday when someone reported that Gregg’s boat had been in the same place for a long time. The DNR and the Camden County Sheriff’s Office dive team began searching the area using divers and boat-mounted sonar devices, Hodge said.
After a roughly three-hour search, Gregg’s body was found.
Hodge said they believe Gregg was fossil diving for things like shark’s teeth, something that was a known regular activity of Gregg’s.
Gregg’s air tank was empty when he was found, Hodge said, but he does not believe running out of air is what caused Gregg’s death.
The DNR and the Camden County dive team are investigating the circumstances and plan to look at Gregg’s dive computer, a specialized diving watch, to try to learn a little more about the dive and piece together what happened, Hodge said.
“We’re going to put our heads together to find out what was the most likely scenario,” he said.