Houston man dies while diving

A 70 year old Houston man died while diving offshore of Key Largo Saturday afternoon.

Sheriff’s detectives say they are attempting to notify the man’s next of kin and are withholding his name until that time.

The man was on a private vessel with a female friend. The two were on their second dive of the day, near Carysfort Reef Lighthouse just after 4 p.m. The victim’s dive buddy told Deputies David Minor and John Babula she saw him underwater attempting to inflate his buoyancy compensator and noticed the BC had a leak in it. She informed him of the issue and they both surfaced.

She said at that point he seemed to begin panicking; she said he turned over on his back and began swimming away from her and away from the boat. When she realized what was happening, she said she yelled to him to stop and swam after him. When she reached his location, he was unresponsive and not breathing.

She had a whistle with her which she began to blow, indicating her need for assistance. A nearby privately owned vessel responded, pulling the victim and witness from the water and radioing for assistance. U.S. Coast Guard responded and transported the victim to shore at Ocean Reef. Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded and transported the witness to shore as well.

Paramedics from Ocean Reef Public Safety met the Coast Guard at shore; they pronounced the victim deceased at 5:15 p.m. Major Crimes Detective Matthew Pitcher has been assigned to investigate the case.

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