Death in Alpena, MI

[WIdiver_Paul]

My LDS got a call asking for details about a death of a North Carolina woman possible aboard a Milwaukee dive charter, not Len-Der or Wreck Xpress... Has anyone heard anything???

I called Jerry Guyer and he hadn't heard anything.

...and is offline...

[scubert]

Haven't heard anything, or found anything online.
Of course, will post of anything turns up.
Hope the caller was wrong...

[matt t.]

Kind of irresponsible to imply "Nordic Diver" or even throw them out as a "possible" without further knowledge or facts. I couldn't even find anything on a search for local news from Alpena about any diving accidents.

[DiveCaptDean]

Wow,
This is the first I have heard of this. I truly hope it isnt true. I am suprised to see that Nordic Divers Site is not open right now, but I woundnt jump to any conclusions. Bill and the boat have been in Lake Huron for a couple of weeks, and will be out there for a couple more. I spoke with his MATE last weekend, ( three days ago)and she was only talking of how excited she was to drive out there and hook up with them.

Lets just hope this isnt true..

Deano
WreckXpress, LLC

[JacobsonC2]

its on the decostop too..... but no one seems to know anything.

[scubert]

someone from Rodales D2D board - Heard it on the local news this morning - no details but happened near Rogers City, MI on Lake Huron, Coast Guard was called in to airlift the diver.

Still cannot find anything else to confirm or elaborate.

[DiveCaptDean]

7-13-04 [DIVING FATAL IN PRESQUE ISLE COUNTY]

THE PRESQUE ISLE COUNTY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT CONTINUES TO INVESTIGATE A DIVING ACCIDENT THAT CLAIMED THE LIFE OF A 42-YEAR-OLD WOMAN. ACCORDING TO THE SHERIFF DEPARTMENT, AT APPROXIMATELY 11:30 SUNDAY MORNING, THE ALPENA CENTRAL DISPATCH RECEIVED A REPORT OF A FATAL DIVING ACCIDENT ON LAKE HURON, ABOUT SEVEN MILES NORTH OF THE ROCKPORT AREA. BY THE TIME DEPUTIES ARRIVED ON THE SCENE, THE 42-YEAR-OLD NORTH CAROLINA WOMAN HAD ALREADY BEEN TRANSPORTED TO THE PRESQUE ISLE HARBOR BY MEMBERS OF THE COAST GUARD. ACCORDING TO FRIENDS OF THE VICTIM, THE WOMAN HAD BEEN DIVING IN ABOUT 200-FEET OF WATER WHEN THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED. WITNESSES SAY THE INCIDENT TOOK PLACE WHILE THE GROUP OF DIVERS WERE RETURNING TO THE SURFACE. THE CAUSE OF DEATH IS UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME.


This is what i found from radio station WATZ 1450 in Alpena.. this is so far all i have found.

Its a shame.
Deano

[scubert]

thanks Dean.
Too bad the report turned out to be true.

[spectre]

BY ERIC OLSON : The Herald-Sun

Jul 13, 2004 : 9:25 pm ET

DURHAM -- A former Durham police officer drowned Sunday morning while scuba diving off the eastern coast of Michigan, authorities said.

Suzanne Johnson was diving an uncharted wreck, the Norman, three to four miles off the coast of Rogers City, Mich., with several friends when she died around 10:30 a.m., said Presque Isle Sheriff's Sgt. Larry Kierzek.

Durham County Sheriff's Capt. Bill Wrenn said the news of Johnson's death was a crushing blow. Johnson piqued his interest in scuba diving, he said, and ultimately helped him gain his certification.

"We were never anything other than really good friends," Wrenn said. "She was someone who always had a smile for me, and I always had one for her. I know she's only been dead a couple of days, and I really haven't come to terms with."

Johnson and two of her friends were visiting the area for recreational diving in Lake Huron, Kierzek said.

The dive to the Norman, which was sitting in about 205 feet of water, went off without a hitch, Kierzek said. And as the divers were returning to the lake surface, they paused at intervals for decompression.

"At about 90 feet, she started having problems," Kierzek said.

A friend from the boat dove in and tested Johnson's breathing system, which was working fine, he said.

"She went unconscious at about 30 feet," Kierzek said. "They surfaced and began CPR on the boat."

Kierzek said he doesn't believe Johnson, who died at the scene, succumbed to a decompression illness known as the bends.

"She was like in the middle of four people, and they were all coming up at the same time," he said.

An autopsy was completed Tuesday, but Kierzek said he had not received a copy.

Johnson began working for the Durham Police Department at about the same time that Wrenn began working with the sheriff's office, Wrenn said. She served as a Durham police officer from July 1984 to June 1997.

"We've all had a difficult time swallowing this," Wrenn said. "Suzanne was a wonderful lady. I'm sick about it. She was a dear friend, and I hate to think about not being able to see her anymore. She was somebody you loved, and it's pretty upsetting."

After leaving the Durham Police Department, Johnson became the dive shop manager at Water World on South Miami Boulevard. She also served as the store liaison for the Bull City Divers, having received her scuba certification in 1999.

source:

[WIdiver_Paul]

I didn't directly imply ND, and wouldn't. Even if it was his boat, it has no reflection on him as a charter operator or whatever anyway. He caters to technical diving, which has an inherant implied assumption of enhanced risk, which to the highly trained divers that are his customers, are manageable, but never 100% safe; nor is any other type of diving.

I had heard this through highly credible diving sources right in Alpena, who heard the actual call on the Coast Guard radio channel.

I don't know who the below Suzanne Johnson is, but that isn't the name I heard either. The body was recovered to Alpena and supposedly the Alpena newspaper had released info Monday on it. I'll keep searching.

As a footnote, Bill hasn't returned my call to his cell from Sunday, so...
I just hope he's doing okay, and wish all the divers and rescue people the best of luck, it would be tough going through that experience, even with all the training we get...




Will ke