Lost Diver in Cozumel, Mexico, February 2016

[Pelagicsal]

Pendle, thank you for taking the time and trouble to share your message. I hope that your family will find peace and healing as you can.

May your request for tact and thoughtfulness be heeded here.

 

[mmmbelows]

I think understanding what happened (as best we're ever able to) would go a long way in healing the pain

Unfortunately, it's probably like so many other lost diver cases never going to be solved in any way. We dive with buddies unless you're solo certified, so in a perfect world or a world different than what the agencies are currently pumping out as certifications, there really should rarely be an incident where the diver just disappears as the buddies would have eyes on each other at all times and witness the incident. But unfortunately almost every reporting of a missing diver is a diver with a buddy but contact isn't maintained. It unfortunately is what happens over and over again. The buddy in this case may have been a preventer of whatever caused the diver to disappear or could have just ended up as a witness to it and helpless or the diver might have been recovered but not lived, nobody can say as nobody knows. It's just the way it is. If anything can be learned at all it's for buddies to stay in contact with each other at all times and there will never be another missing diver reported, there may be diver deaths, but they won't be mysteries.

 

[KathyV]

Friends of the family have created a GoFundMe site to help with the expenses:

Click here to support Connie Greylak fund by Lisa Beard

 

[DandyDon]

But unfortunately almost every reporting of a missing diver is a diver with a buddy but contact isn't maintained.

If anything can be learned at all it's for buddies to stay in contact with each other at all times

I do not intend to criticize the newbie buddy in the least, I am sure she already feels horrible, but this is something I really harp on. Perhaps Connie should have made it a hard agreement with her buddy since she seems to have been more experienced, but I do if I buddy up with anyone...

Buddies stay together, period, thru the whole dive. We enter together, descend together, stop together if one has a problem clearing, etc. - and if we lose the group, we lose them together. We do the dive together, ascend together, stop together, exit together - no exceptions.

Connie was the last one in the water. As they were descending her dive buddy realized Connie was having difficulty descending. Dive buddy attempted to get the attention of the group but they were drifting down too fast and she was not able to get their attention. She continued to try to get their attention but upon not being able to she looked back up and Connie was gone.

 

[CuzzA]

So did the buddy ever get the attention of the group, signal we're missing a diver and begin the search or did they just continue on with the dive? If it's the latter, that's a problem.

I've advocated PLB's a few times here, but assuming she never even descended or even descended and then ascended from her dive to search for the group and was simply lost at sea, a PLB is must have gear. A few hundred dollars is about the cheapest damn life saving insurance anyone who is at sea or off the beaten path can buy.

I own a ACR ResQLink+ PLB in a CustomDivers delrin canister and it always comes with me when diving. Attached right to my waist harness.

If you're diving in the ocean you really should consider buying one.

 

[Ron Lee]

Based upon the information on the previous page, there could have been an ear clearing issue or not enough weight. Neither one is normally a serious problem. If required, the buddy team can surface and deal with the issue, get more weights, etc.

The comments made about buddy teams staying together is important. If the divemaster is not there then the buddy team needs to rely upon their training to deal with the situation...which may mean surfacing and ending the dive.

A new diver is not going to be as experienced and able to handle new problems and stresses like a seasoned diver who has had many dives and lots of additional training. I assume that training at least gives the diver the ability to surface carefully...listening for nearby boats.

The other point to consider that may go a long way to reducing these events is to have a divemaster along with novice divers new to Cozumel. There are multiple things that new divers need to learn to become comfortable with drift diving. I suspect that in two dives with a divemaster/instructor, those skills can be taught and practiced.

As an example, a buddy team needs to be able to safely surface if separated from the group. They can practice that under the supervision of the divemaster/instructor at the end of the dive. Ascend a do a safety stop around 15 feet. Deploy their surface buoy if that is reasonable, listen for boats and surface. Add air to the BC and monitor for boats, inflate the surface marker if they did not while underwater and wait to be picked up.

I am a firm believer that divers should be able to safely ascend SOLO. That too can be practiced in a simulated mode under the supervision of the divemaster/instructor.

Between learning drift diving skills and staying with your buddy, the "missing diver" events should be greatly reduced.

 

[DandyDon]

I own a ACR ResQLink+ PLB in a CustomDivers delrin canister and it always comes with me when diving. Attached right to my waist harness.

If you're diving in the ocean you really should consider buying one.

Mine stays in my car and goes where I go, until I get out of the car. It's been on many hikes and dives with me.

The PLB is only $200 after rebate, less than $1/week over 5 years. Anyone who ever leaves town should consider carrying one in their car. I got a canister on Ebay for about $100. Diver Locator Satellite PLB Canister from HDVSEATEK.

 

[Ayisha]

I do not intend to criticize the newbie buddy in the least, I am sure she already feels horrible, but this is something I really harp on. Perhaps Connie should have made it a hard agreement with her buddy since she seems to have been more experienced, but I do if I buddy up with anyone...

I'm sure the "buddy" does feel horrible - her Mother is lost.

 

[DandyDon]

I'm sure the "buddy" does feel horrible - her Mother is lost.

I know. I might criticize her training if I knew more about it, but not her. Dives are not trained well enough, as we know.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Some of you seem to have forgotten that we recently lost one of our own. In that instance, the very experienced buddy team had had a shakeup but were essentially back together with eyes on one. But a single moment of looking away and the other diver went missing.

In this case, we don't know how far apart the buddy team actually was from one another. Regardless, if an experienced buddy can look away for a second and a buddy be lost, then it could happen to any buddy team unless tethered together.

Whole groups of people have seen divers surface and thenone disappears.

Stuff happens, it's very sad but that's the ocean and what can happen to divers in it.