Officials investigate case of missing free diver off Fort Pierce Inlet
ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A West Palm Beach man free diving Sunday about 13 miles southeast of the Fort Pierce Inlet didn’t resurface, according to law enforcement and public safety officials.
The man, free diving the Halsey shipwreck, didn’t resurface on his last known dive. The U.S. Coast Guard identified him as 39-year-old Virgil Price.
Price is a "team member" at Florida Freedivers, a sporting goods store in North Palm Beach, according to a social media post by the store. He appears to be an instructor there.
Free diving, also called skin diving, relies on breath-holding until resurfacing.
Price, of West Palm Beach, last was seen about 10 a.m. by three other people in his party and was reported missing, Arielle Callender, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesperson, stated via e-mail.
Price wore a green wetsuit with an orange stripe on the hood, weight belt with yellow weights and black carbon fiber fins.
Callender stated that FWC and the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office are helping the U.S. Coast Guard in the search for Price. She stated the U.S. Coast Guard is leading the search for Price, and FWC is heading up the boating investigation.
According to uboat.net, the Halsey, a 7,088-ton steam tanker, was attacked May 6, 1942, by U-333, a German submarine, and sunk. Two torpedoes struck the vessel. The entire crew – eight officers and 24 others – abandoned ship in lifeboats and survived.
The wreck is in about 80 feet of water, and is a well-known dive spot for amberjacks and grouper. The hull is broken apart in about three pieces.
Sheriff’s spokesperson Tonya Woodworth did not immediately return a message Monday, and a request for a sheriff’s report regarding the incident was not immediately fulfilled.
No other information was immediately available.
In June 2023, Maxwell Roberts, 20, of Utah, died after a freediving and spearfishing trip in the ocean off Martin County, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Roberts and four others were in a boat about 2 ½ miles off the St. Lucie Inlet when the incident occurred, Martin County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy John Budensiek has said.
TCPalm staff writer Ed Killer contributed to this report
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Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Free diver doesn't resurface after weekend dive off Fort Pierce Inlet
