Two men who died in a scuba diving incident at the former Jamestown mine in Tuolumne County on Saturday were setting up safety equipment to prepare the lake and underwater mine shaft for an organized dive in May, according to a brother of one of the victims.
Jamie Pollard, 37, of Stockton was diving with three friends when he apparently panicked during the dive in a lake formed at the old gold mine off Harvard Mine Road, according to a Tuolumne County Sheriff's Department news release. Pollard was taken to Sonora hospital, where he died Saturday.
Another member of the diving group, Dale Allen Dedic, 34, of Lodi, was reported missing Saturday. His body was recovered from the lake Monday afternoon.
The lake is an old mine shaft that goes down about 500 feet, said sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Jeff Wilson.
Deputies responded to the mine site Saturday about 3:15 p.m. to a report of a missing person, the release said. There, Cameron Wheeler, 41, of Stockton told deputies he and three friends had been diving in the mine when Pollard appeared to panic for an unknown reason.
Wheeler brought Pollard to the surface, where he appeared to be OK. However, Pollard was later transported to Sonora Regional Medical Center and pronounced dead of unknown causes, the release said.
Wheeler told deputies he then went back down to locate Dedic but could not find him, according to the release. Wheeler resurfaced, and called 911.
On Monday, the Army Corps of Engineers located Dedic's body using special equipment at a depth of about 135 feet, Wilson said.
Doug Dedic, 35, of Jackson said his brother was an accomplished diver and assistant diving instructor who had been diving at the mine once or twice a month for the last eight or nine months.
Dale Dedic was "passionate about the sport," and had set up a social networking website called "Nor-Cal Dive Connection" as a meeting place for local scuba divers, his brother said. There, he had uploaded a flier for the "1st Annual Whiskey Lake Dive-In," scheduled for May 14 at the Jamestown mine.
Doug Dedic said the group had gone to the mine Saturday to lay out a rope grid so that divers who came out for the event could be successfully and safely accounted for.
"They were putting barriers up, preparing for that, but they were also up there just to enjoy doing what they loved," Doug Dedic said.
Dale Dedic, who had been diving for about five years, had often raved about the lake at the Jamestown mine for its sheer depth, rock structure and visibility, his brother said.
The mine is a popular spot for scuba divers, said Wilson. This is the first fatal diving incident he remembers occurring at the mine, he said.
Pollard's family was not available for comment.