Forwarding this from a public safety dive list.....


----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Grasso" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Waterops List" <[log in to unmask]>; "Publicsafetydiving"
<[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 06, 2000 11:00 AM
Subject: FW: lost diver in gulf


> PublicSafetyDiving
>
>
>
> ----------
>
>
> YANKEETOWN -- Separated from her fiance after they dove in the Gulf of
> Mexico, Kristine Green drifted for more than a day, enduring both a
boiling
> hot sun and the terror of darkness.
>
> The 27-year-old floated like a stick in the water and was almost as
> difficult to find.
>
> But after several sorties beginning Sunday evening, Coast Guard rescuers
> located the helpless diver Monday about 2:35 p.m., plucking her from the
> open water about 5 miles west of Yankeetown in south Levy County.
>
> Green, wearing only her buoyancy straps and scuba tank, was in obvious
pain
> after spending more than 25 hours in mid-80-degree water, Coast Guard Lt.
> Charles Bell said. But she had enough energy left to inquire about her
> partner.
>
> Thanks to a passing boater, Douglas Wilson, 35, had been safe for more
than
> a day since being discovered around 1 p.m. Sunday while clinging to a
> directional pylon 5 miles to the north, Bell said.
>
> "She was alert and conscious, obviously dehydrated, suffering from
> exhaustion," said Bell, who co-piloted the successful rescue mission out
of
> Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater. "She wanted to know if he was found.
We
> said, "Yes, he was.'
>
> "As soon as we got her on the helicopter, we put her on oxygen and wrapped
> her in blankets," he said. "Her will to survive kept her alive so long."
>
> Green, who lives with Wilson in Citra, north of Ocala, was airlifted to
> Tampa General Hospital. She was treated and released. Wilson was not
> admitted.
>
> The Coast Guard learned of Green's dilemma from Wilson. But as of Monday
> evening, investigators still were looking for a clear explanation of the
> incident.
>
> They could not say how the pair lost track of their boat and got separated
> from one another. Consequently, they cannot say how long they were stuck
in
> the water.
>
> Investigators are waiting to hear Green's version of events, Bell said.
The
> Levy County Sheriff's Office and the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation
> Commission's bureau of marine patrol are assisting in the investigation.
>
> The outing began early Saturday afternoon when Green and Wilson launched
out
> of the Wacasassa River. They were about 9 miles from shore when troubles
> began, according to a news release from the commission's local marine
patrol
> unit.
>
> One of them dove and the other snorkeled, Bell said. At some point, Wilson
> gave her the scuba tank and they split off.
>
> When he was found clinging to the pylon, Wilson was wearing a wet suit
with
> cut-off arms and legs, said Paul Roberts, a boatswain mate 3 with the
Coast
> Guard station in Yankeetown.
>
> Coast Guard rescuers flew their first helicopter mission at 5:30 p.m.
Sunday
> and tried one more sortie before starting again 5:30 a.m. Monday. At 11:25
> a.m. they took off on Monday's third flight from Clearwater and finally
> located Green floating about 5 miles west of
> County Road 40.
>
> "I don't know what she did mentally to stay alive that long," he said.
>
> Although the gulf waters are warm, temperatures are well below normal body
> temperature, Roberts said.
>
> "Even though the water temperature isn't cold, it isn't as hot as your
body
> temperature," he said. "Exposure is what kills a lot of people. "She was
> delirious," he said. "It's a miracle she's alive."
>
>
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