Search for missing Florida diver leads to discovery of different body
FORT PIERCE, Fla. - Law enforcement officers in South Florida are trying to identify a body they found while searching for a different person who disappeared while diving over the weekend.
Deputies from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office and members of the U.S. Coast Guard say they found the remains of a man about 16 miles northeast of the Fort Pierce Inlet earlier this week.
They say the deceased man was believed to be more than 50 years old and weighed between 200–225 pounds.
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Authorities say the man’s characteristics do not match those of a diver who disappeared on Sunday.
Currently, officials say they do not have any missing person reports in St. Lucie County that matches the man's description.
The U.S. Coast Guard is working with the medical examiner to determine the cause and approximate time of death. Officials say it doesn't appear as though the body was in the water for a long time.
Deputies and officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have been looking for a West Palm Beach man who was free-diving near the Halsey shipwreck and never surfaced.
He was last seen wearing a green wet suit with an orange stripe on the hood, yellow weights on his weight belt, and black carbon fiber fins.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of both individuals involved in these investigations," the sheriff's office stated in a social media post.
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