Search and Rescue - Scubaboard Staff Member - Northernone - Missing in Cozumel

[uncfnp]

I think this is the area.

Do you have coordinates?

I know nothing about cozumel... Except it's an island.

 

[swimlikethefish]

Doesn't look too hard to reach depths of over 1000 feet.

 

[FriendofCam]

Sorry, I'm not a diver; could someone give me a little more detail on the scooter getting flooded? How likely is that to have happened? Would it be a freak malfunction, or could it be caused by inattention to detail before the dive? Does anyone know of Cameron's scooter flooding previously?

 

[deepsea21]

Is the area Cameron was diving more prone to downwellings than other areas of the wall to the south? Some people love wall dives but they now spook me as I've aged and learned more about them. I've read if I ever caught in one to fully inflate the BC (which really does little good while one is trapped in one) and fin AWAY from the wall and be prepared to dump all weight as a last resort... keep fining until you are out and away from the wall and the downward current. I have also read to get very close to the wall as the current will be less there and try to climb/fin up that area. Spooky situation no matter which way you go. So what is the best way to get out of one of those things?

 

[MargaritaMike]

View attachment 510693

The dive profile from today.

Thank you, Henry. This community truly appreciates your updates. Stay strong and stay safe. He will be found safe. I truly believe that. Thanks to the efforts of so many people.

- Michael

 

[Joneill]

Is the area Cameron was diving more prone to downwellings than other areas of the wall to the south? Some people love wall dives but they now spook me as I've aged and learned more about them. I've read if I ever caught in one to fully inflate the BC (which really does little good while one is trapped in one) and fin AWAY from the wall and be prepared to dump all weight as a last resort... keep fining until you are out and away from the wall and the downward current. I have also read to get very close to the wall as the current will be less there and try to climb/fin up that area. Spooky situation no matter which way you go. So what is the best way to get out of one of those things?

On another note, given what has transpired everyone (including me) is evaluating their safety gear. The discussion of a PLB has come up a few times. It is my belief that a PLB would not have proven beneficial to Cameron in this case. These small PLB's aren't like full size EPIRB's on a boat that can transmit for 48-72 hours. PLB's transmit for about 24 hours and deploying one in the 3rd world is only as useful as the region's assets (if they have any) are able to mobilize in that 24 hour time frame, reach the area, and then track the separate 401 homing signal. Mexico SAR took far to long to mobilize for this rescue... Helicopters broken down, lack of pilots, whatever the excuses the bottom line in this case is the battery of a PLB would be spent before any assets were in the air even searching for it. Even in the USA I remember fishing off the coast of NC and the Coast Guard came over the radio reporting a ping they received from an EPIRB registered to a commercial fishing boat. For 1/2 the day the Coast Guard was in constant chatter with other boats in the area trying to verify if there was an emergency or not. Several hours later another boat confirmed the fishing boat was afloat with no issues and just had its radio turned off. Long story short, even the US Coast Guard doesn't put assets in the air for hours after an EPIRB or PLB ping is received... It is MAYDAY over a radio that gets their immediate attention while EPIRB and PLB pings they seem to assume they got splashed with water if they have water activation, knocked out of a holding mount that triggers it, accidentally activated, etc. This is why EPRIBs on boats are larger and house larger batteries that can power them for 48-72 hours after all the hours of preliminary investigation have passed. Long story short, a PLB activated off Mexico or other areas of the 3rd world seems to be almost worthless other than providing one with a false sense of security that just may cause them to take on more risk in where they chose to dive.

I think you are wrong on this- a PLB activation would, at the very least, confirm a diver is alive on the surface and provide location info that would be extremely useful even if the actual SAR is delayed a few hours.

 

[Dan]

Is the area Cameron was diving more prone to downwellings than other areas of the wall to the south? Some people love wall dives but they now spook me as I've aged and learned more about them. I've read if I ever caught in one to fully inflate the BC (which really does little good while one is trapped in one) and fin AWAY from the wall and be prepared to dump all weight as a last resort... keep fining until you are out and away from the wall and the downward current. I have also read to get very close to the wall as the current will be less there and try to climb/fin up that area. Spooky situation no matter which way you go. So what is the best way to get out of one of those things?

On another note, given what has transpired everyone (including me) is evaluating their safety gear. The discussion of a PLB has come up a few times. It is my belief that a PLB would not have proven beneficial to Cameron in this case. These small PLB's aren't like full size EPIRB's on a boat that can transmit for 48-72 hours. PLB's transmit for about 24 hours and deploying one in the 3rd world is only as useful as the region's assets (if they have any) are able to mobilize in that 24 hour time frame, reach the area, and then track the separate 401 homing signal. Mexico SAR took far to long to mobilize for this rescue... Helicopters broken down, lack of pilots, whatever the excuses the bottom line in this case is the battery of a PLB would be spent before any assets were in the air even searching for it. Even in the USA I remember fishing off the coast of NC and the Coast Guard came over the radio reporting a ping they received from an EPIRB registered to a commercial fishing boat. For 1/2 the day the Coast Guard was in constant chatter with other boats in the area trying to verify if there was an emergency or not. Several hours later another boat confirmed the fishing boat was afloat with no issues and just had its radio turned off. Long story short, even the US Coast Guard doesn't put assets in the air for hours after an EPIRB or PLB ping is received... It is MAYDAY over a radio that gets their immediate attention while EPIRB and PLB pings they seem to assume they got splashed with water if they have water activation, knocked out of a holding mount that triggers it, accidentally activated, etc. This is why EPRIBs on boats are larger and house larger batteries that can power them for 48-72 hours after all the hours of preliminary investigation have passed. Long story short, an EPIRB or a PLB activated off Mexico or other areas of the 3rd world seems to be almost worthless other than providing one with a false sense of security that just may cause them to take on more risk in where they chose to dive.

I have been in downcurrent situation in Indonesia, not in Cozumel. Bubbles were drifting down to the abyss. My mask was flooded as I turned to face the incoming current. DM there thought me to not mess around with your buoyancy, just fin like mad to the wall and hide tight against the wall as there are plenty crevices to hide & relatively quiet boundary layers near the wall.

About the PLB battery life, it's true that it may not last more than 24 hour. That's why I carry PLB & PAB (Personal AIS Beacon). The PAB battery would last 48-72 hours. It sends out radio signal to nearby boat within sight. I would use it immediately. Once I don't see anything on the horizon, then I'll use my PLB as the last resort. This way at least I can extend the alert signal from the 2 devices.

 

[deepsea21]

Good point Joneill. At least the recorded pings would prove a diver is afloat and had the capacity to activate it and I guess for those 24 hours it would give SAR a position to start searching after the battery died. I will amend that prior post.

 

[InTheDrink]

Update from the divers today -

We had 4 divers ready to dive today, but only 3 went in the water as we had equipment problems for one of the divers. The short story is that they did not find anything that could possible belong to Cameron.

We had one OC diver who has done a lot of north side diving in Cozumel in the past and was familiar with the location and was able to provide great information about the north wall and how the currents play out. As it turns out he felt the current today was moderate, or close to normal for a typical day in the north. This means a 2 knot current, on average, which for most people would still be considered quite strong. This diver says he has never done this dive with a scooter and has never had problems with the expected down currents without the scooter.

The other 2 divers were on semi-closed circuits. The diver which didn't make it in the water was on CCR.

I apologize but I do not have the dive profile at this time. I will try to get it from the divers and will share it if I receive it.

The divers reported a mostly normal dive with currents running from south to north as expected. Upon approach to "Eagle Ray Alley" the divers encountered erratic currents, which again is typical in this location and was expected. They reported with the moderate 2 knot current their scooters were unable to hold them in place when they attempted to go against the current. Close, but not quite able to hold their position. They did hit the expected down current and found their scooters able to hold their depth by using the scooter to ascend (but didn't ascend). They also reported the currents quickly changed to an updraft, and then started spiraling, and at one point sending them south (backwards). Again, this is and was expected for Eagle Ray Alley, which is exactly why our eagle rays gather in large numbers right there.

The divers reported once they exited the Eagle Ray Alley location the currents again returned to the standard South-to-North flow. The section of Eagle Ray Alley which was tricky was very short lived. You enter it, get tossed around some, and spit out the back side in just a minute or two.

The dive Cameron and his mother plan has then getting to Eagle Ray Alley and then cutting in towards shore for their exit point. A normal dive for them did not have Cameron alone at this point of the reef and he would not normally be below the top of the wall. This means he'd be back to about 21m and rejoining his mother. (Side note - we take our experienced recreational divers here to see the eagle rays. It's tricky, but above 30m is usually not a problem besides strong current flowing north.)

One of the three divers noticed a bit of reef damage at about 50m near the Eagle Ray Alley. He said it appeared to be something akin to anchor damage with a few toppled over barrel sponges that were broken off. This area of the reef is not normally an anchorage point, and certainly not on the wall at 50m. (Side note - this location is miles away from the video Cameron posted of anchorage damage downtown.) When pressed if it could be damage done by a troubled diver he said it was possible, but he could not confidently say yes. Cameron's Deco Instructor from years ago was present today and noted that Cameron was highly challenged during his training and always performed superbly. We all agreed Cameron would not be your typical panicked diver grabbing onto the reef.

During their deco off-gassing they again ran into another waterfall. They reported swirling bubbles and bubbles taken down, and also Sargasso going down, and then just a few meters later a significant updraft and Sargasso now heading to the surface. Again, this is not unusual for the north of Cozumel. What was unusual was they reported the same type of circling downward currents when they swam off into the deep abyss.

Given the information gathered and upon reflection, the divers agreed there was nothing about that dive that someone of Cameron's ability would not be able to handle. Challenging, yes, but not something a skilled diver would not be able to overcome. The consensus between the three divers was Cameron most likely made it to the surface and is adrift at sea.

The only exception they saw was if the scooter Cameron was using somehow became flooded and thus became a 50lbs anchor. If, and I stress if, the scooter flooded the three divers agreed in a 3+ knot down current it would literally be impossible to unclip the scooter to free himself, thus dragging himself to the depths. It should be noted that Cameron didn't carry his scooter in a typical position clipped to the front of him. He managed to position his scooter so it rested above his legs when in a trim position (photos exist online showing his positioning). So if the scooter did flood, the awkward positioning would make a near-impossible task that much more difficult.

I don't have any further updates at this time in regards to the land, sea, and air searches. I know thus far they've turned up nothing, but I'll wait until I hear back from all of today's volunteers before providing an update beyond the diving. We have many resources out today and I have been unable to keep up with all of them. .

Much thanks to the brave men who completed the dive today - Ernesto, Osama, and Christopher. Also to Max for assisting even after his CCR experienced a failure.

The possibility of the scooter flooding did cross my mind. Hope to God it didn’t if he was caught in a down current....

 

[Ron Lee]

I think you are wrong on this- a PLB activation would, at the very least, confirm a diver is alive on the surface and provide location info that would be extremely useful even if the actual SAR is delayed a few hours.

I agree. On the NOAA registration website you can have several emergency contact numbers. Imagine that a person activated a PLB in a similar situation and had a parent and wife/girlfriend as emergency contacts. Assuming that the SAR personnel attempted to make telephone contacts first, they (SAR assets) might know that it was a real emergency within an hour or so.

That would have been at a point where a boat captain could be given the PLB coordinates and easily reach the person quickly.

I found several numbers that a relative might be able to call proactively:

You will also want to contact one of the following, depending on your location, as you may have inadvertently broadcast a live signal: U.S. Coast Guard at 1-855-xxxxxxx, U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at 800-xxxxxxx.