NY Diver drowned yesterday

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From the articles it seems that he was an experienced technical diver. Sad. Diving around debris with no buddy support seems pretty dangerous. Of course the problems could have been due to any number of factors.
 
We are devastated. Bob was an active club member and a great friend. A US Navy veteran and a patriot. An informed and involved citizen. A great dive buddy and a great mentor.

As far as the details of the accident, they are still not clear, and I don't want to post conjecture, since I wasn't there. He was part of the team that had been diving this flooded mine in upstate NY for quite some time. The mine bottoms out at over 500 FFW. Some team members had done numerous dives in excess of 300 FFW, and had been exploring side tunnels as well as the many cars and other machinery on the silty bottom.

As with all accidents, I follow the details as they emerge in hopes of making my own diving safer. This one is much harder, but I know that he would do the same thing if it had been someone else.

Fair skies and following seas, Bob.

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RIP Bob Thomas also I think people should hold back on speculation until all facts come in. Bob was a very competent tech. and rebreather diver who had dove the mine many times.
 
Was he solo? The article doesn't really say. So sorry for his friends and family, and him.

Edit: Found another article:
Experienced Scuba Diver Goes Missing Near Northern Westchester Border

The timeline in this article, if true, suggests that he was in the water for 4 hours before his GF who wasn't there called the police because he was overdue.
My question is, what about the two people who were there with him? Why did they wait for the police to arrive to ask for help? Doesn't sound logical to wait for 3 hours after a guy was supposed to surface to sound the alarm.
 
Was he on a rebreather?
 
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