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#20281
Search for missing San Diego Scuba Diver
Smithsgold - 5/31/2012 2:37 PM
Category: General
Replies: 9

Search for missing San Diego Scuba Diver





San Diego Lifeguard Lt. Nick Lerma says about 30 divers will resume the search Thursday morning for Jeffrey May 45 from San Diego, who has not been found in the water near La Jolla Shores.

A helicopter crew scanned shallow waters and remote-controlled vehicles were used in water too deep for divers.

May told his wife he was going diving with friends Monday but called her later saying the group didn’t show. She reported him missing 12 hours later.

His car was found nearby, but searchers haven’t found anyone who saw him go in the water.
#2635
John_giu - 6/01/2012 3:28 AM
Never Dive alone.
#4846
Eve - 6/01/2012 6:35 AM
Please post any updates to this story.
#20281
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Smithsgold - 6/01/2012 8:06 AM
Authorities resumed searching today for an Oceanside man who went missing on Memorial Day after visiting La Jolla Shores for a scuba-
diving outing.

Jeffrey May, 45, went to the northern San Diego beach early Monday morning, telling his wife he planned to meet up with a diving group, city lifeguard Lt. Greg Buchanan said. She reported him missing about 8 p.m.

May’s car was found in a parking lot in the area, and a plastic tub holding his car keys, sunglasses and clothing was located in a grassy area alongside the beach. May had rented a scuba tank and some diving weights at a nearby dive shop, but authorities could find no one who saw him entering the water. The dive-group members also reported no contact with him.

Lifeguards spent several hours searching from aboard boats and on shore vehicles, aided by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter, before suspending the operation about 11:30 p.m., Buchanan said.

The effort resumed at 6 this morning. Almost three dozen divers from the San Diego Police Department and lifeguard agencies up and down the coast were taking part, along with the federal maritime agency and the San Diego Harbor Police. The latter department deployed a vessel with sonar equipment, Buchanan said.

As of midday, the search had turned up no sign of May, with the possible exception of a diving mask that might have belonged to him.
Murky water conditions were making the job more challenging, Buchanan said. ”We can’t see very much, which makes it that much more difficult,” he said.

May’s wife told authorities her husband had been scuba-diving for 25 years. A friend of his, however, said May had not gone on a dive since last summer and had never done one at La Jolla Shores, Buchanan said.
#20281
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Smithsgold - 6/04/2012 7:59 AM
Not the update I was hoping to post :

Body found off San Diego likely missing Diver

June 4th, 2012

Lifeguard officials say a body found off the San Diego coast is likely that of Jeffrey May of Oceanside.

San Diego Lifeguard Lt. Nick Lerma says a recreational diver discovered the body early Sunday near La Jolla at a depth of about 175 feet.

Lt. Lerma says the man had been dead for several days.

The Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the identity. Lerma says he anticipates it will be 45-year-old Jeffrey May, whose wife reported him missing Monday.

Dozens of divers with the help of a helicopter crew spent several days searching for May.

May’s car was found in a parking lot in the area, and a plastic tub holding his car keys, sunglasses and clothing was located in a grassy area alongside the beach.
#20281
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Smithsgold - 6/04/2012 8:07 AM
A diver who was going far deeper than rescue divers can safely go, about 175 feet below the surface, found the corpse at about 7:15 a.m., according to city lifeguard Lt. Andy Lerum.

The body was brought to the surface and lifeguards were called shortly before 8 a.m., he said.

"We responded and observed a (dead) person wearing scuba gear," Lerum said. "He had been deceased for a number of days,’’ Lerum said.

The scuba gear was missing a weight belt, he said.

The body was taken by rescue boat to a dock in Mission Bay, where the
San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office took over. Lerum said the Medical Examiner’s Office would determine the identity of the body, but anticipated it would be that of 45-year-old missing diver Jeffrey May.
#51828
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Greg - 6/05/2012 7:06 AM
It almost sounds like he attempted a buoyant ascent, dropping his weights. Maybe he ran out of air. But without weights, I wonder how he didn’t come to the surface.
#51828
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Greg - 6/07/2012 6:09 PM
It has been confirmed. Sad story. I’m really curious about what happened. Maybe the family will disclose more information later so we can all learn from this tragedy.

http://www.10news.com/news/31157258/detail.html