Pensacola diver dead, authorities seek equipment - Tenneco Rig, Florida

[DandyDon]

FWC searching for missing diving equipment linked to Pensacola diver's death

Gary Franklin, 63, died Oct. 5 during a recreational dive on the Tenneco Rig, a dive site about 26 miles south of Pensacola in federal waters, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Authorities believe his equipment malfunctioned during the dive. A nearby diver performed rescue efforts, but was not able to save Franklin.

Franklin's dive equipment was left on the site during the incident. When investigators returned to the scene with divers to retrieve the equipment, they could not find the equipment.

Now, investigators are looking for information on the whereabouts of the missing equipment.

Anyone with information about the incident can remain anonymous by contacting FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922) or by texting Tip@MyFWC.com.

 

[RyanT]

 

[nolatom]

Very sorry to hear, and concolences to Mr. Franklin's loved ones. I've done that dive a few times.

My initial thought was that someone else took the gear. But, does "left on site" mean it was negative, and on the bottom near the Tenneco rig?? If not, might it have become positive, and drifted off?

 

[DandyDon]

The Imperial Turtle

Ancient and Honorable Order of Turtles - Wikipedia

Gary Larson cartoon,

He is a diver. The Fearless Side of Gary Larson : What's a Quiet, Unassuming Cartoonist Doing on a Dive Like This?

 

[SteveMKentucky]

Unfortunately there's not a lot of information in the articles to date. Would really like to know more about the equipment failure that led to this tragedy. Was it privately owned gear that failed? Was it serviced appropriately? Lots of questions we may never know as the equipment has apparently gone missing.

https://weartv.com/news/local/pensacola-diver-dies-fwc-searching-for-missing-diving-equipment

FWC says on October 5, Franklin was taking part in a recreational dive on the Tenneco Rig, a dive site located approximately 26 miles of Pensacola in Federal Waters, when his equipment is believed to have malfunctioned.
...
Franklin’s diving gear was left behind during the incident. When investigators returned to the area with divers to retrieve the equipment, they couldn’t find it.

 

[RyanT]

I'm sorry to hear of this event; condolences for the deceased and his family.

Here's just a bit of info on the site. It is the leg section of an oil rig that was dropped on it's side in 175' of water. The top of the legs reach to about 80' of the surface, so the dive can be done from moderate depths to quite deep.

 

[RayfromTX]

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A ScubaBoard Staff Message...

This thread began as a report about the search for a deceased diver's missing dive gear but has since been merged with a thread about the actual accident that led to the diver's death. It is in the A&I forum which has special guidelines for posting. The previous posts about humorous cartoons have been removed. Thank you for your understanding

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