A tragic incident unfolded off the shores of the Treasure Coast on Friday as local and federal agencies, alongside dedicated civilians, searched for a missing diver. The intensive operation concluded with the heartbreaking discovery of the diver’s body 55 feet below the surface near the Fort Pierce Inlet.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that a multi-agency search ended Friday afternoon when civilian divers recovered a missing individual 55 feet underwater, just miles northeast of the Fort Pierce Inlet.
The emergency response was initiated late Friday morning. According to the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Coast Guard stationed in Fort Pierce received a distress mayday call at 11:30 a.m. regarding a diver who had failed to surface. The Coast Guard immediately alerted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), which quickly deployed four vessels to assist in the urgent search efforts.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit, having already monitored the initial VHF mayday broadcast, was concurrently en route to the scene. In a strong showing of Treasure Coast community solidarity, official marine units were not the only ones scanning the waters. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, civilian boaters who were friends of the diver mobilized and departed from the Fort Pierce Inlet around 1:00 p.m. to join the search.
Key details of the search and recovery operation include:
- Location of the Vessel: Responding units ultimately located the diver’s boat approximately six to seven miles northeast of the Fort Pierce Inlet, positioned roughly east of Avalon Park.
- The Discovery: At exactly 4:10 p.m., civilian divers participating in the search entered the water and tragically located the missing diver at the bottom of the ocean at a depth of 55 feet.
- Multi-Agency Cooperation: The operation highlighted swift, coordinated efforts between federal guardians, state wildlife officials, county sheriff’s deputies, and local residents.
Following the recovery from the water, the diver was officially pronounced deceased. Authorities transported the individual to the Coast Guard Station in Fort Pierce. The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division has assumed jurisdiction over the case and is actively conducting a thorough investigation to determine the exact circumstances surrounding this tragic loss in our local waters.
