Found Deceased FL - ‘Sharkwater’ filmmaker Rob Stewart, 37, Lower Matecumbe Key, 31 Jan 2017

[dotr]

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...stewart-goes-missing-during-florida-dive.html

Toronto filmmaker and environmental activist Rob Stewart disappeared Tuesday off the coast of Florida following an incident that left his diving partner unconscious, his sister says.

Stewart, 37, was in Florida to film a documentary called Sharkwater: Extinction when he apparently slipped under the water during a dive near the Florida Keys.
“He had surfaced and gave the okay sign and then he was gone,” his sister, Alexandra Stewart, said Wednesday.
“The other diver got on board and was struggling to get on board and then fell unconscious,” she said.
The crew of the boat lost sight of Stewart amid the commotion, she said.

Stewart’s sister said there’s a concern her brother lost consciousness as well.

“We’ve heard that people can survive more than 72 hours in these waters,” she said. “It’s still a surface search, which is great news".

A global wildlife photographer, Stewart has devoted his career to warning the world about threats facing sharks, other ocean life and humanity in general.

His 2006 documentary Sharkwater, which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival, became an international hit and prompted people around the world to lobby their governments for bans on shark finning.

[video=youtube;m5fObF_CCYc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5fObF_CCYc[/video]

 

[dotr]

http://coastguardnews.com/coast-guard-searching-for-missing-diver-near-alligator-reef/2017/01/31/

Coast Guard watch standers issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast, launched a Coast Guard Station Islamorada 33-foot Law Enforcement Special Purpose Craft boat crew, launched a Coast Guard Air Station Miami MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and diverted the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Charles Sexton.

Assisting with the search are members from the Navy, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Monroe County Sheriff’s Office

 

[dotr]

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/sister-of-missing-canadian-filmmaker-terrified-but-hopeful-1.3266051

Woodall said that that the crews will continue to search as long as there is a chance of survival.

Alexandra said she remains hopeful in part because she’s heard that people can survive more than 72 hours in the “nice, warm waters of Florida.”

 

[Elainera]

Oh no! I hope he didn't lose consciousness too!

Alexandra said the dive her brother was performing when he went missing was “quite deep” and her brother was using a sophisticated piece of equipment for it.

“But that said, we were surprised that both he and this other diver suffered any sort of ill-consequences from this dive and it’s hard to speculate about what might have happened there, but diving also has some inherent risk in it, unfortunately.”

http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/sister-of-missing-canadian-filmmaker-terrified-but-hopeful-1.3266051

 

[dotr]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/rob-stewart-missing-1.3961210

"We're in the critical window of daylight right after he's gone missing where, if we're going to find him on the surface — where we'd like to find him — it's going to be today," Stewart's sister, Alexandra Stewart, said in an emotional interview with CBC Toronto on Wednesday morning.

"If there are other people out there, what we desperately need are more surface searchers," she said.

Stewart was born and raised in Toronto, and studied biology at Western University in London, Ont.
He is also considered one of the "distinguished alumni" of Toronto's Crescent School, which he attended from grades 7 to 9, and where he has since returned to speak to students about his work in marine conservation.
"Our thoughts are with Rob's family and we share their hope for his safe return," the school said in a statement.
"We are looking forward to having him back because the world needs him," echoed Parfit.
"The sea, the oceans need him."

 

[Bohemian]

Oh no! I hope he didn't lose consciousness too!



http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/sister-of-missing-canadian-filmmaker-terrified-but-hopeful-1.3266051

There was a post on Instagram last night (Australian time) from @racing_extinction saying that Rob had a dry suit on so searching for him using heat detecting equipment on US Coast Guard and planes was virtually impossible as it wouldn't pick his body heat up. They put out a call for anyone with a boat to assemble at the wharf at dawn this morning (US time) to search for him. They also said they feared Rob was unconscious.

(Sorry, no link or direct quote but you can search for their account on Instagram).

 

[Portabella]

Rob was in a dry suit which is going to make it hard for him to spot, but will also help keep him from going hypothermic as quickly. They are asking people to follow the current and if out on your boat report where you searched to the Coast Guard. My hope is fading, but my prayers continue that he is found alive. IMHO.

 

[los2188]

Shark filmmaker disappears during a dive off the Florida Keys

A scuba diver missing from the Florida Keys since Tuesday has been identified as a well-known Canadian underwater filmmaker and conservationist.


Rob Stewart, 37, was diving with a small group on the wreck of the Queen of Nassau near Alligator Reef off Lower Matecumbe Key in about 225 feet of water, his sister Alexandra Stewart said by phone from Toronto on Wednesday morning. He was filming an installment of his Sharkwater documentary series, she said.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article130014874.html#storylink=cpy​

Sent from my 5054N using Tapatalk

 

[dotr]

The Coast Guards are great, wishing them a safe and successful search!

http://www.cp24.com/news/search-for...n-florida-to-continue-through-night-1.3266111

The search for a Toronto filmmaker who went missing while scuba diving in the Florida Keys on Tuesday will continue throughout the night and into tomorrow morning if necessary, the U.S. Coast Guard says.

“We want to make sure we do everything we can to find Mr. Stewart,” U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Ryan Kelly told CP24 on Wednesday afternoon. “We have small boats that have GPS as well as search patterns overlays that will allow us to search areas taking into account the drift and the weather as well as the currents that are out there. We will use spotlights and try to saturate the areas where any type of current may have possibly taken him.”

 

[DeDee]

https://www.thestar.com/news/gta/20...stewart-goes-missing-during-florida-dive.html

[video=youtube;m5fObF_CCYc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5fObF_CCYc[/video]

@ 1:21 the image appears that he may be free-diving [without O2 tanks). What an incredibly stunning video for Rob to make. Rob's sister is correct. In any deep dive, for any number of reasons, one can lose consciousness and the internal pressure is great.

I'm a certified PADI diver and this is quite worrisome. At certain depths, one nearly needs to pause to allow the body's equilibrium to catch up, if you will, whether diving down or coming to surface. It is similar to the pressure one feels in their ears when flying. Swallowing helps. I was taught only submarines went to extreme depths. It would be interesting to learn about the activity of jellyfish where he was last reported. Jellyfish stings stopped professional swimmer, Diana Nyad, many times.
http://www.diananyad.com/

09/30/2014
Scuba organizations say recreational divers shouldn’t go below about 130 feet, but one Egyptian diver recently ventured a bit deeper — going more than 1,000 feet below the ocean surface and setting a world record in the process.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/30/deepest-dive-record-ahmed-gabr-scuba_n_5902316.html

 

[policyoftruth501]

So my first question is was there one dive boat or two? The article states that the two diver's surfaced at 5:15, the other diver climbed into "their" diving boat, and passed out. It then goes on to say that then diving boat crew "went to retrieve" Stewart he was no where to be found. So if they came of the water at the same time, how far could anyone have drifted to no longer be visible? Unless Stewart decided he wanted to stay in the water, but it doesn't say that anywhere.

I don't intend to hurt any feelings by pointing out discrepancies I've noticed because I'm sure Stewart has many friends amongst the people he works with. Yet, it's kind of hard to ignore details that don't even make common sense, much less make sense for safety and all the other precautions a person should take when on a boat, in the water, or on any type of watercraft.


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[Bohemian]

There was a post on Instagram last night (Australian time) from @racing_extinction saying that Rob had a dry suit on so searching for him using heat detecting equipment on US Coast Guard and planes was virtually impossible as it wouldn't pick his body heat up. They put out a call for anyone with a boat to assemble at the wharf at dawn this morning (US time) to search for him. They also said they feared Rob was unconscious.

(Sorry, no link or direct quote but you can search for their account on Instagram).

Asked for an update on the search from @racingextinction on Instagram this afternoon (Australian time) but no response as yet.

 

[Elainera]

So my first question is was there one dive boat or two? The article states that the two diver's surfaced at 5:15, the other diver climbed into "their" diving boat, and passed out. It then goes on to say that then diving boat crew "went to retrieve" Stewart he was no where to be found. So if they came of the water at the same time, how far could anyone have drifted to no longer be visible? Unless Stewart decided he wanted to stay in the water, but it doesn't say that anywhere.

I don't intend to hurt any feelings by pointing out discrepancies I've noticed because I'm sure Stewart has many friends amongst the people he works with. Yet, it's kind of hard to ignore details that don't even make common sense, much less make sense for safety and all the other precautions a person should take when on a boat, in the water, or on any type of watercraft.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't know whether there was one or two boats, but as I understood it, because Stewart gave them the ok sign and because the other diver was struggling and then lost consciousness, the whole crew focused on him at that moment. We don't know how long they were busy with him, but somehow I doubt Rob drifted away. I think he might have lost consciousness too.

 

[Purplepixii]

So my first question is was there one dive boat or two? The article states that the two diver's surfaced at 5:15, the other diver climbed into "their" diving boat, and passed out. It then goes on to say that then diving boat crew "went to retrieve" Stewart he was no where to be found. So if they came of the water at the same time, how far could anyone have drifted to no longer be visible? Unless Stewart decided he wanted to stay in the water, but it doesn't say that anywhere.

I don't intend to hurt any feelings by pointing out discrepancies I've noticed because I'm sure Stewart has many friends amongst the people he works with. Yet, it's kind of hard to ignore details that don't even make common sense, much less make sense for safety and all the other precautions a person should take when on a boat, in the water, or on any type of watercraft.

Judging by the wording of this article I'd suggest there was only 1 boat:
""The other diver got on board and was struggling to get on board and then fell unconscious," she said.
The crew of the boat lost sight of Stewart amid the commotion, she said."

Fingers crossed for a miracle :crossfingers:

 

[GigTu]

So, the diver lost unconsciousness because he came up too fast or something? Seems to me they should not be looking for him on the surface, but down under the water where the boats were, since he slipped under water and they lost sight of him.

 

[Ava_TO]

Watching this situation, anxiously... this morning, the @sharkwater team is asking for assistance from tech divers via Twitter (sorry, I can't figure out how to link to that here). Asking for tech divers suggest they think he's trapped somewhere below... that said, if anyone can survive the 72-hour window at sea, it is Rob... holding out hope that good news will come.

 

[dotr]

http://www.cp24.com/news/u-s-coast-...orida-for-missing-toronto-filmmaker-1.3267730

Last Updated Thursday, February 2, 2017 8:39AM EST The U.S. Coast Guard says the search continues this morning for Toronto filmmaker Rob Stewart, who went missing while Scuba Diving in the Florida Keys Tuesday afternoon.

“There will be additional surface assets out there in the search area again today as well as a Customs and Border Control dive team with sonar capability that will bring in an additional sensor to try to locate Mr. Stewart,” Kelley said.
“We’ve saturated the search area of an 11 by 25-mile area. The one positive thing is the initial report we know precisely where he went missing at the time and that helps narrow the search area.”

“They don’t know whether he collapsed or he faded or what but we do know that he is an amazing swimmer, who has done thousands of dives and he knows this, he knows what to do, so if he is awake they will find him,” he said.

 

[Davia18]

Keeps lots of hope and sending lots of prayers

 

[dotr]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/rob-stewart-search-1.3963085

At last count, 13 volunteer aircraft were in the sky and 20 volunteer boats were out on the water, Cangemi told CBC Toronto in a telephone interview Thursday afternoon.

As many as 15 volunteer divers were searching on Wednesday, he said.
"The boating community and the scuba diving community down here in southern Florida is very strong, and oftentimes when there's a boating incident mariners and boaters will get together and then search for one of their own," Cangemi said.
"And with Mr. Stewart being such a well-known figure, especially for all the works that he did in preserving the ocean and its wildlife, there certainly is a much larger response than we would typically see."

On Thursday, she said the family hopes that even more boats, small planes and divers will join the search. In a text, she told CBC Toronto "we have at least two more days of active search while he may be alive."

 

[policyoftruth501]

I'm glad their putting in so much effort to locate this man, but I can't help but think how different all missing person cases would go if they all got the same amount of effort.


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