Crews from the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard continue their search for a missing scuba diver off Guam's coast, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023. (Ed Mewborn/U.S. Coast Guard)
The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended a multiday search for a scuba diver who disappeared Thursday morning off Guam’s western coast.
The unidentified man, 35, remains missing, a spokeswoman for Coast Guard Forces Micronesia Sector Guam, Chief Warrant Officer Sara Muir, told Stars and Stipes by email Saturday.
He was diving with a colleague near Rick’s Reef, where they were reportedly doing telecommunications contract work, the sector announced Thursday. The reef is between the villages of Hagatna and Tamuning.
"We extend our condolences to the family and friends of the diver during this trying time," the sector’s commander, Capt. Nick Simmons, said Saturday in a news release.
The diver was last seen wearing a black wetsuit with orange fins, a rebreather and a spare oxygen tank, according to the sector. Anyone with information is asked to call Sector Guam’s Joint Rescue Sub-Center at 671-355-4824.
The diver’s colleague contacted the sector at 10:36 a.m. Thursday to report the man missing. The Coast Guard, Navy, along with Guam’s police and fire departments, immediately dispatched teams, vessels and aircraft to begin a search.
First responders included fire department Jet Ski operators, boat crews and divers; Navy MH-60 Knighthawk helicopters; the Coast Guard cutter Frederick Hatch; and a 45-foot medium response boat from U.S. Coast Guard Station Apra Harbor, according to the report.
The Coast Guard also issued an urgent marine information broadcast to notify mariners about the missing man.
"We are extremely grateful to our local and military partners and good Samaritans for their tremendous efforts over the last few days," Simmons said in Saturday’s release.
