Ohio man drowns - South Lake Tahoe, California

[DandyDon]

Jack Bowling: Fairfield man dies in scuba diving accident in Lake Tahoe

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. —

A Fairfield, Ohio, man has died following a scuba diving accident in California.

Jack Bowling, 40, died Saturday just off Baldwin Beach in South Lake Tahoe.

Family members said Bowling went to the California lake for vacation, along with his wife and son. They had just started that vacation when Bowling had some sort of trouble underwater.

"The family is devastated with this tragic and unexpected death of the most adored husband, daddy, son, brother (and) uncle," a statement from Bowling's wife, Monica Bowling, said in part. "Please keep the family in (your) prayers and thoughts."

Officials with the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office said Bowling was doing some sort of underwater metal detecting using a weight belt under about 10 feet of water.

Authorities said he experienced "some sort of distress," and was pulled from the water by onlookers.

Medics performed CPR on the beach. Bowling was taken to Barton Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

A preliminary autopsy lists his cause of death as drowning.

Bowling had served in the Army, and worked in the technology department at the Butler County Educational Service Center.

Family members said he was an experienced diver.

Lake Tahoe is a popular freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains, located near the border of California and Nevada. It's a popular vacation spot, known for its beaches and ski resorts.

 

[Biotech Diver]

This is very unusual. Even if it’s a catastrophic equipment failure or running completely out of air, at 10 feet it should be survivable for an experienced diver. Maybe he was entangled or it was some type of medical event. Hope there is some follow up on this story after an investigation is completed.

A few years back I spent 4 days diving Lake Tahoe from my boat with a cuddly cabin. The diving was actually quite boring for the most part. Visibility of course was great and on the east side of the lake (Emerald Bay I think it was?) there is a vertical granite wall that plunges down to the abyss. We dove down to about 130 feet, if I recall correctly, and still could not see the bottom even though visibility was easily over 100 feet. The water temperature was pretty chilly at that depth and my semi dry wetsuit wasn’t cutting it anymore. Hypothermia could set in fairly quickly if you continued to ignore the signs, but at 10 feet this time of year I’m guessing the water temperature would be in the mid to low 60s so I don’t think that would be a factor with this incident, assuming he was wearing at least a 5 mm suit. Of course if the diver completely ignored the warning signs and extreme discomfort he would be experiencing from the cold water, I could see it leading to a drowning.

Hypothermia is very dangerous and can cause drowning very quickly. My friend’s ex boyfriend drowned in Lake Tahoe about four years ago. He was tubing with friends and his tube got away from him. He swam after it and his friends hardly paid any attention to him. When they turned around to look for him he was gone. They suspected the cold water got to him and affected his ability to swim and he sank and drowned. I don’t know what the water temperature was, but it never warms up anywhere close to 80 F like here in Florida during the summer months.

 

[DandyDon]

This one says it was a medical event, but no details. Ohio man on vacation dies after diving in Lake Tahoe

 

[Biotech Diver]

Very sad. Usually these medical even diving fatalities occur to people over 50, but it goes to show it can happen at any age.

 

[Bobbyfree]

Good morning,

It was my friend Jack who died in this tragic accident in the Lake Tahoe and we still can t figure out what did happen.

He was wearing a wetsuit so hypothermia was not possible (i guess) and at 10 feet the water is not super cold too.

First time he tried the equipment everything went well, went back to see his wife and then he went for a second dive. He did change the battery and after 20min his wife saw him trying to grab the floater but unfortunately he didn't make it. By the time help came it was too late....

FYI he was using some equipment for breathing :

BLU3 | Ultra-portable dive systems — BLU3 Ultra-Portable Dive Systems

With this equipment you can go max to 10 feet (3 meters). He also had a padi licensed open water.

He was wearing a weight belt (they told me he was wearing 12-15lbs and he was a 195lbs) but i know when u are wearing a wetsuit u can float easily.

I did some digging online and I saw that the max weight for freediving without a tank it's around 3lbs or 4 max. Could the belt be an issue ? I'm also a padi diver too and I remember that removing a belt it's pretty easy (maybe not in a panic situation).

It could also be a Freediving blackout but if it was that then he wouldn't have tried to reach the floater ? And 10 feet it's nothing when you try to go to the surface ? Or the weight of the belt was way too heavy to go back to the surface ?

Well as you can see there's so many good damn scenarios but hyperthermia is surely none of them and I have no idea what could go wrong. Even the equipment at 10 feet if something goes wrong u can easily go back to the surface.

Thank you for your time and help by trying to understand what happened back there... But unfortunately we might never really know... =(

Lionel

 

[jale]

Hi Lionel
Sorry about your friend.
Maybe a look at this hookah diving system and its air quality...

 

[Bobbyfree]

Hi Jale,

Thank you.

Unfortenately they didn t recover the whole gear so there will be no more investigation on what went wrong with that i guess....

He tried his equipment in pool before using it but yes i do agree with you it might be the air quality...

But if it was that he would have the issue at the first dive i guess =(

Lionel

 

[jale]

Lionel,
En fait, je suis vraiment désolé et je me mords les doigts d'avoir soulevé ce problème car cela ne va rien changer. Condoléances.

 

[Bobbyfree]

Pas de problème c'est pas grave, le plus triste c'est de ne jamais savoir vraiment ce qu'il s'est passé.

 

[Bob DBF]

FYI he was using some equipment for breathing :

BLU3 | Ultra-portable dive systems — BLU3 Ultra-Portable Dive Systems

It's made by Brownie's who have be in the business since the beginning, and are known for quality equipment. That being said it is battery operated, and batteries wear down, when one runs out of air underwater it is stressful.

He was wearing a weight belt (they told me he was wearing 12-15lbs and he was a 195lbs) but i know when u are wearing a wetsuit u can float easily.

Depends on the wetsuit what weight you need, that might not be out of line, or out of line by much.


The accident could be dive related, however the 35 to 55 age group is experiencing the fastest growing percentage of heart attacks, and are the least likely to expect it. Diving is physical, doing anything at 6200' is a lot more physical than one thinks.

If you are also friends with the family, you might find out more about the death from the autopsy report.

I am very sorry for your loss, it's been many years but I still think of my friend Richard that died of a heart attack at 35.