Beneath the Surface
Since becoming a diver I get asked frequently “what do you find underwater?” or “what’s the craziest thing you’ve seen?” Well here’s the answer…
(some information has been generalized or omitted to protect the family and identity)
In the summer of 2022 myself and two others divers went to a local lake. We would go there once a week to practice our dives and swim around and pick up trash. On this particular day we had already done our deep dives and were exploring the shallow areas (10-20ft) picking up trash. After one of my dives I came to the surface for air and to see where my friends were. I saw trash scattered on the surface around our buoy and one of the divers in a panic. He was frantically reaching for the anchor and pulling the buoy towards a certain location. I swam over to them to ask what was going on and if I could help. He told me…
“There’s a body.”
After flagging down a kayaker he had called 911 to report it. During this time I thought about going down there to take a look for myself to see if I could relay any helpful information. I also thought very quickly if I don’t go down there and see for myself that my imagination may stir up images that would be haunting. Certainly a gamble, but before I spent too much time thinking I took a deep breath and headed down. The visibility in the lake was around 5-10 feet so after I hit the 10 foot mark I spotted a white glowing object. As I got closer I made out a pair of black boots and the glow was coming from the persons pale skin. Upon further exam I saw the clothing the person was wearing and that they were connected to a deflated blow up paddleboard. The shorts, shirt and boots did not look like something you would go out paddleboarding in. The whole situation seemed out of place. The victim was lying face down in about 15 feet of water, out of visible range of anyone from the surface.
After the 911 call our friend left us to meet with authorities on the beach while myself and the other diver stayed with the body. I would continue diving down to ensure the anchor/buoy was still in the area (it was a rather windy day). After another hour my friend and I were relieved and after giving a statement we were sent home. That night I logged onto local scanner pages and watched the posts and comments flood in about what was happening. Reading some assumptions that were close and others of pure fabrication. I didn’t feel it was my place to say anything or correct anyone so I didn’t say anything. After some research I discovered that a person went missing a few days before in the same area. The photo posted matched exactly the person that I had seen. Again, not my place to publicly comment so I said nothing. We would later find out that it was an apparent suicide. The victim had left a note, went out a few nights before and tied weights to the inflatable paddle board and sunk it in water deep enough to never be found.
Diving today.
It took a few dives to shake the fear of running into something like that again but I think I’m fully cleared of that now. Death has played a big part in my life and I think because of that I’m rather desensitized to it. This moment had came only 6 months after holding our daughter Ava in our hands for the few hours after she passed. Incredibly sad to see someone with no options left but thankfully the diver found the person and was able to give the family closure.