Horizon Dive Adventures Complaint Filed in Federal Court

[uwxplorer]

A diver’s body was found deep in the ocean off the Keys. But was the recovery legal?
View attachment 476492 View attachment 476493

I think this is the link you wanted to post (found in the page you linked to):
Beaver all but gone from ME’s office

 

[Wookie]

I think this is the link you wanted to post (found in the page you linked to):
Beaver all but gone from ME’s office

Yeah, I think the Stewart case really pissed a bunch of good ol boys off.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Many boats were looking for Rob Stewart on the surface for 2 or 3 days. I was dispatched several times to look, we drove offshore into the Gulfstream several times thinking he may be buoyant and floating north in the stream.

Would any of us who searched the surface, found the body and recovered it be accused of wrongdoing?

I recall no admonitions being put out over the VHF radio warning mariners to NOT look for and recover the body.

 

[Wookie]

Many boats were looking for Rob Stewart on the surface for 2 or 3 days. I was dispatched several times to look, we drove offshore into the Gulfstream several times thinking he may be buoyant and floating north in the stream.

Would any of us who searched the surface, found the body and recovered it be accused of wrongdoing?

I recall no admonitions being put out over the VHF radio warning mariners to NOT look for and recover the body.

Had you found the body, would you have brought it onboard or would you have notified the coast guard that you had found it and waited for instructions? I’m curious, not judging. I have recovered 2 floaters. It’s very hard, especially if they are in gear, to not disturb the gear. The coast guard in both cases instructed me to recover the bodies. In one case the gear was lost. Both of my divers were significantly larger than Stewart.

I was taught by my insurance company and training agency affiliate (TDI) to first turn off gas with a witness to verify to preserve the remaining gas and touch nothing else (BOV/MAV, handset, etc). I was also told that by Craig Jenni.

 

[Johnoly]

.. I’m curious, not judging....

Same here, just discussing view points. In the couple I've been involved with there is a HUGE amount of grey area between "tampering" and "rendering assistance". I've seen instances where the 1st responders took EMT shears to so much gear that it looked like a shredded bank statement. Wetsuit, 4 chest straps, octo necklace, fin strap, computer retractor, broken mask being stepped on, and finally breaking almost every chest bone in CPR when clearly DOA.
I think any lawyer/official trying to prove 'tampering' is going to be pushing an uphill boulder since a number of 'excuses or OOPS' in the hectic's of the recovery, could be a defense. I think it's the amount of time from 'physical contact' to 'hand off' is the important element. Working on gear in the 1st 30 minutes could easily be 'rendering assistance'. Much later timeframes become a little more slippery the longer it is. It's a huge Grey Area and easy to invite arguments from all sides, just like pass interference in football, depends where you are standing.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Had you found the body, would you have brought it onboard or would you have notified the coast guard that you had found it and waited for instructions?

I *think* I would have radioed the USCG & waited for instructions.

 

[Wookie]

I *think* I would have radioed the USCG & waited for instructions.

It's important to remember that Bleser was under the full awareness that he was a Captain in the KLVFD, and the head of the head of the WET team. He was not disavowed until well after the lawsuit had been filed. I'm sure that he felt he was operating with full authority.

 

[Trace Malinowski]

I was Jim Wyatt's buddy for the NSS-CDS Recover/IUCRR RRSOM training. We were taught to shut the gas off and inventory gear underwater. That would also apply to a floating body in the water. You'd want to shut the gas off and inventory the status of gear and the condition of the body before bringing it aboard. Underwater, you'd use a slate and record things such as lights on or off and if there is the presence of fluid in the mask.

Let me add that Jim is quite the underwater Quincy + Columbo combined. He found the tip of our "victim's" fin due to a tiny bit of silt he noticed to the right of the bedding plane in Upper Orange. He also had the brilliant idea that he'd do an initial inventory on the slate and then hand it to me for a back-up brain. Jim remembered all but 2 items. I got the rest and we scored 100%. We were challenged with having to move Big Bob out of the hole. We decided to inventory little by little as we moved the "body" in an attempt to log the condition of gear with as little movement as possible. Finally, we got Bob out simulated a gas shut down and I muled Bob out on a tow line while Jim played helmsman and steered. Lamar liked our teamwork and out of the box thinking. We lost points for the placement of our tow line where we could have mummied Bob a bit more.

I figured I'd share this training dive to explain that an organized recovery isn't supposed to be just dragging a body up or sticking it in a body bag. The idea is to get the body to law enforcement as soon as possible and preserve the condition it was found as best as possible. Public safety divers and recovery divers are there to assist law enforcement. Law enforcement has the lead. It's best not to recover a body until directed. If you are not in a position to contact a LEO (law enforcement organization) or you think you may not be able to relocate a body, should you decide to recover it, it's best to record you decision and each action you take. It's the best you can do to establish a chain of custody.

The best situation would be for law enforcement to be present and bring the body up in an area away from family and media. Then give the responsibility of putting the body in a bag to the police or other entity acting on their behalf that is above your pay grade. Don't say anything to anyone. Only speak to authorities and don't make assumptions. Just the facts. That's why you can't say there is "blood in the mask" but rather "pink fluid." You are not a forensic scientist and can't say it is blood. You can assume it. It probably is. But, all you know is that you know what fluid looks like and what color you would describe it as.

In this case, the coroner should have just brandished an M1911 and declared no one is taking the body. (Stand by Me reference for those of you too young to remember the 1986 film.)

 

[Ayisha]

Would any of us who searched the surface, found the body and recovered it be accused of wrongdoing?

I recall no admonitions being put out over the VHF radio warning mariners to NOT look for and recover the body.

It appeared in the emails from Dr Beaver that the admonishments were directed specifically to the team who eventually did the recovery due to conflicts of interest.

 

[Wookie]

It appeared in the emails from Dr Beaver that the admonishments were directed specifically to the team who eventually did the recovery due to conflicts of interest.

As stated in a link at the top of this page, that contributed to what can only be described as Dr Beavers firing. I wonder if he is vindicated now?

As an aside, I always felt that Dr. Beaver was an outstanding coroner regarding diving accidents.