I've not read any further than this... Copied from the dive clubs multi-mail system, a copy of the news paper article. I understand that the diver died the day after thanksgiving.
By DENNIS FOLEY
The Orange County Register
LAGUNA BEACH Daryll Shatz was known as a
conservative diver, scrupulous about his scuba
equipment.
That made it hard for fellow diving enthusiasts to
accept that the Laguna Niguel computer analyst died
Sunday while diving in a Laguna Beach cove and that
malfunctioning gear might have contributed to his
apparent drowning.
"He was not a risk-taker or a foolhardy person. He was
not one of the people you would expect this to happen
to," said Rick Valasek of San Juan Capistrano, a
fellow officer in the South Orange County Dive Club.
Shatz's body was recovered about 20 yards off Montage
Beach - formerly known as Treasure Island Beach in
an area known as Golf Cove by rescue divers from
Laguna Beach and state lifeguards.
A 911 call from Shatz's diving partner at 11:15 a.m.
brought Laguna Beach police, fire and lifeguard
personnel to the beach. They were joined by Harbor
Patrol and U.S. Coast Guard craft, as well as a
helicopter from the Newport Beach Police Department.
The diving partner, Steve Feldman of Mission Viejo,
said he and Shatz were trying to handle an equipment
problem with Schatz's inflater hose, which helps
regulate a diver's buoyancy, when Shatz slipped
underwater, Laguna lifeguard Capt. Kevin Snow said.
"I dove with him there a week ago, in the same spot,"
said Konrad Fry, the dive club's president. "It was
beautiful. Underwater caves, schools of fish and sea
life," Fry said.
Shatz, who turned 55 a week ago, began diving three
years ago and Sunday was his 101st dive, Fry said.
"He loved every minute of it. He was an incredible
person, sweet, giving and kind," he said.
Fry and Valasek remembered dive trips to San Diego,
Catalina Island, the Coronados, and Cozumel, Mexico.
"Daryll was very outgoing and enthusiastic about
getting new members into the club and promoting the
sport," Valasek said. Fry credited Shatz with helping
build the club from 50 members to more than 200,
partly by bringing in top-flight speakers to the
club's meetings, such as a famous National Geographic
underwater photographer. Shatz opened his Somerset
Point home to club meetings and threw a barbecue to
celebrate a new relationship with a Dana Point dive
shop, Fry said.
On Sunday, news spread to the six neighboring homes on
the one-block cul-de-sac where Shatz lived.
Next-door neighbor Belinda Bain tearfully recounted
how she had teased Shatz on Saturday as he put up
outdoor Christmas decorations.
"I joked with him that he was making the rest of us
look bad," she said.
Bain called Shatz's wife, Brenda, after finding out
why a police officer and chaplain came to the Shatzes'
door about 2 p.m. Brenda Shatz said she had family
around her and asked neighbors to give her time.
"She adored him," Bain said. "He was her world."
She said she would take up a collection among the
neighbors to send flowers, "just to let her know we
are there for her, any time," Bain said.
"They're the greatest neighbors. It's so sad," said
Julie Cook, who lives across the street.
"It's a shocker," said her husband, Greg.
Fry was unsettled by the manner in which Shatz died.
"He was extraordinarily competent. He was
rescue-certified. He double- and triple-checked his
equipment," he said.
Fry said he spoke with Feldman after the accident and
said Shatz, as experienced as he was, might have
panicked when his air hose disconnected from the
inflater attached to his buoyancy compensator. The
compensator is worn like a vest. Divers use it to stay
at the depth they want by pressing a button to inflate
or deflate the vest. Shatz and Feldman were on the
surface trying to fix the problem after they had
walked into the water from the beach. Shatz was not
wearing his swim fins, Feldman told authorities and
Fry.
Feldman dove to locate Shatz and when he could not
find him, yelled for somebody to call 911 and alerted
a Montage Resort employee, who dove into the water,
too, searching until lifeguards arrived.
Feldman declined an interview request.
"Steve did everything he could," Fry said. "They were
best friends and it's hard not to blame yourself.
That's what happens when you are a dive buddy. He's
torn up."
The club will plan a diving memorial for Shatz to
remember the man who became so enthralled with diving
that he spent thousands of dollars on an underwater
digital camera and whose pictures grace the club's Web
site, Fry said.
The cause of Shatz's death will be determined by the
Orange County coroner's office, which also will
examine Shatz's scuba equipment.
By DENNIS FOLEY
The Orange County Register
LAGUNA BEACH Daryll Shatz was known as a
conservative diver, scrupulous about his scuba
equipment.
That made it hard for fellow diving enthusiasts to
accept that the Laguna Niguel computer analyst died
Sunday while diving in a Laguna Beach cove and that
malfunctioning gear might have contributed to his
apparent drowning.
"He was not a risk-taker or a foolhardy person. He was
not one of the people you would expect this to happen
to," said Rick Valasek of San Juan Capistrano, a
fellow officer in the South Orange County Dive Club.
Shatz's body was recovered about 20 yards off Montage
Beach - formerly known as Treasure Island Beach in
an area known as Golf Cove by rescue divers from
Laguna Beach and state lifeguards.
A 911 call from Shatz's diving partner at 11:15 a.m.
brought Laguna Beach police, fire and lifeguard
personnel to the beach. They were joined by Harbor
Patrol and U.S. Coast Guard craft, as well as a
helicopter from the Newport Beach Police Department.
The diving partner, Steve Feldman of Mission Viejo,
said he and Shatz were trying to handle an equipment
problem with Schatz's inflater hose, which helps
regulate a diver's buoyancy, when Shatz slipped
underwater, Laguna lifeguard Capt. Kevin Snow said.
"I dove with him there a week ago, in the same spot,"
said Konrad Fry, the dive club's president. "It was
beautiful. Underwater caves, schools of fish and sea
life," Fry said.
Shatz, who turned 55 a week ago, began diving three
years ago and Sunday was his 101st dive, Fry said.
"He loved every minute of it. He was an incredible
person, sweet, giving and kind," he said.
Fry and Valasek remembered dive trips to San Diego,
Catalina Island, the Coronados, and Cozumel, Mexico.
"Daryll was very outgoing and enthusiastic about
getting new members into the club and promoting the
sport," Valasek said. Fry credited Shatz with helping
build the club from 50 members to more than 200,
partly by bringing in top-flight speakers to the
club's meetings, such as a famous National Geographic
underwater photographer. Shatz opened his Somerset
Point home to club meetings and threw a barbecue to
celebrate a new relationship with a Dana Point dive
shop, Fry said.
On Sunday, news spread to the six neighboring homes on
the one-block cul-de-sac where Shatz lived.
Next-door neighbor Belinda Bain tearfully recounted
how she had teased Shatz on Saturday as he put up
outdoor Christmas decorations.
"I joked with him that he was making the rest of us
look bad," she said.
Bain called Shatz's wife, Brenda, after finding out
why a police officer and chaplain came to the Shatzes'
door about 2 p.m. Brenda Shatz said she had family
around her and asked neighbors to give her time.
"She adored him," Bain said. "He was her world."
She said she would take up a collection among the
neighbors to send flowers, "just to let her know we
are there for her, any time," Bain said.
"They're the greatest neighbors. It's so sad," said
Julie Cook, who lives across the street.
"It's a shocker," said her husband, Greg.
Fry was unsettled by the manner in which Shatz died.
"He was extraordinarily competent. He was
rescue-certified. He double- and triple-checked his
equipment," he said.
Fry said he spoke with Feldman after the accident and
said Shatz, as experienced as he was, might have
panicked when his air hose disconnected from the
inflater attached to his buoyancy compensator. The
compensator is worn like a vest. Divers use it to stay
at the depth they want by pressing a button to inflate
or deflate the vest. Shatz and Feldman were on the
surface trying to fix the problem after they had
walked into the water from the beach. Shatz was not
wearing his swim fins, Feldman told authorities and
Fry.
Feldman dove to locate Shatz and when he could not
find him, yelled for somebody to call 911 and alerted
a Montage Resort employee, who dove into the water,
too, searching until lifeguards arrived.
Feldman declined an interview request.
"Steve did everything he could," Fry said. "They were
best friends and it's hard not to blame yourself.
That's what happens when you are a dive buddy. He's
torn up."
The club will plan a diving memorial for Shatz to
remember the man who became so enthralled with diving
that he spent thousands of dollars on an underwater
digital camera and whose pictures grace the club's Web
site, Fry said.
The cause of Shatz's death will be determined by the
Orange County coroner's office, which also will
examine Shatz's scuba equipment.
