Death in Alpena, MI

[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.

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