Trespassing golf ball diver drowns - Texas

[DandyDon]

Officials: Man drowns while diving for balls at Hutto golf course | www.statesman.com

HUTTO — Divers on Friday morning found the body of a man in a pond at a Williamson County golf course.
The man, who has not been positively identified, died while illegally scuba diving for golf balls to sell, said Capt. Mike Gleason of the Williamson County sheriff’s office.
Divers began searching for him Thursday after a man called the sheriff’s office Wednesday night to report that his son was missing and might be at the Star Ranch golf course in Hutto, Gleason said. He had not been able to locate his son for about a day and a half, Gleason said.
The man found his son’s pickup with keys and driver’s license inside of it at the club at 2500 FM 685, Gleason said. He knew that his son had a hobby of illegally going onto golf courses at night and diving for golf balls to sell, Gleason said. The balls were sold for $1 each, he said.
Divers found the man about 10 a.m. Thursday about eight feet from the side of the pond. He had a bag of golf balls and was wearing scuba-diving equipment, including an oxygen tank painted in camouflage colors, Gleason said.
“He had run out of air and had a lot of weight on him to keep him down,” he said.
“What we speculate is that the water was so cold it probably sent him into shock and he went to sleep,” Gleason said. Autopsy reports on the man, who was in his 40’s, are pending.
The water was so murky and chilly that divers from the sheriff’s office could only search for short periods of time, Gleason said. When the divers got out of the pond, their body temperatures had dropped to 94 degrees, Gleason said.
The pond is near the 11th hole, said Rob Fulford, the course’s golf director. “We had no idea that there was anyone out here,” Fulford said Friday. “I feel terrible for his family.”

 

[Stoo]

Seriously? “What we speculate is that the water was so cold it probably sent him into shock and he went to sleep,”. That's a thing? If so, there should be divers sleeping all over the bottom of the lake here in Tobermory. It's friggin' Texas... do they even have cold water in Texas...?

Awesome speculation on the part of the good Sheriff, who is also, I presume, a Doctor in his spare time.

Condolences the family and all, and hopefully they'll get some answers to what happened here.

 

[Tony387]

The lakes in this area are running about 60° right now. That being said, the reporting is fairly crappy.

 

[DandyDon]

Seriously? “What we speculate is that the water was so cold it probably sent him into shock and he went to sleep,”. That's a thing? If so, there should be divers sleeping all over the bottom of the lake here in Tobermory. It's friggin' Texas... do they even have cold water in Texas...?

Awesome speculation on the part of the good Sheriff, who is also, I presume, a Doctor in his spare time.

That was a poor guess on the part of a non-diving officer-in-charge, I think. I'm sure the water would be chilly north of Austin without a wetsuit this month, and of course south Texas locals aren't as acclimated for cold anything like Canadians - but if he wore a lightweight suit and got cold, I still don't see the sleep angle. I hate being cold and will just get out if chilled, but he was after stolen property he could sale - so he just might have stuck out a chill long enough to lose control, maybe?

More likely, I suspect that he didn't watch his gas supply, which would last a long time at pond depths but not forever, went OOA, panicked, and being heavily weighted to keep himself on the bottom looking for balls - couldn't get up on his own, failed to ditch, and drowned. Just my guess tho.

 

[driftwood]

On the local news, they said he was using "improvised" scuba gear.

 

[DandyDon]

Another version of the story just came online that claims his tank "had no gauge." He may well not have been certified or well equipted, for all we know at this point.

 

[PaloPinto]

Body of golf ball diver recovered at Hutto course pond | KXAN.com


I have seen guys with a snuba type system diving in local lakes searching for treasures dropped by partygoers, they use a makeshift compressor powered by a small gasoline engine. not something I would trust my life to

 

[iceman4poc]

Officials: Man drowns while diving for balls at Hutto golf course | www.statesman.com

Poor that guy for making big mistake to his deathbed. I have dived that pond under contract and that golf course always loaded with golfballs in a plastic lined pond which anybody should not attempt to dive without training or aware of very slick bottom hardly to exit once full with golfballs and weightbelts. Oh well no need to sue him for stealing balls! RIP!

---------- Post added December 12th, 2015 at 05:05 PM ----------

The lakes in this area are running about 60° right now. That being said, the reporting is fairly crappy.

at this going temperature, wear 7mm wetsuit is not a problem to dive in Texas.

---------- Post added December 12th, 2015 at 05:06 PM ----------

Bull****! hooka diving system is safe and practical these days!

---------- Post added December 12th, 2015 at 05:08 PM ----------

yes reporting sounds crappy I will agree with you. still good to use wetsuit at this time.

 

[tridacna]

"Oxygen tank". Enough said

 

[Stoo]

"Oxygen tank". Enough said

Ya there is that... I guess I think that if an "official" is going to "Speculate" on the cause of death, the newspaper isn't the place to do it...

If even half of the updated bits of info are correct, it's no wonder the poor guy met his end.