Anna Maria Island, Fla. – The Coast Guard is searching for a missing 35-year-old male diver 28-miles west of Anna Maria Island.
Coast Guard watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., received a call at 9:48 a.m., Saturday, reporting that a diver was free-diving at about 115-feet without an emergency breathing apparatus and had not returned to the surface.
A Coast Guard 25-foot rescue boat crew from Station Cortez, Fla., and a Coast Guard HH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla. were immediately launched to search for the possible missing diver. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and divers from Sarasota Police Department are also assisting in the search
The diver was reported to have been wearing a weighted belt and shorts.
