incident at Blow Hole Cave

Date
23rd Dec 1984
Publication
ACA 1983-1984 p. 365
Cave
Blow Hole Cave
State
Hawaii
County
Unknown
Country
United States of America
Category
Cave Diving
Incident type
Drowning
Group type
Unknown
Group size
6
Aid type
Unknown
Source
Unknown
Incident flags
 

Injured cavers

Name Age Sex Injuries Injured areas
Turner, Sue 21 Not recorded Not recorded Not recorded

Incident report

On December 23, six people were scuba diving near the Blow Hole on the coast of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands. Sue Turner (21) apparently became separated from her companions and entered a cave. She was later missed and a search was instituted. At 3:30 p.m. a helicopter crew found her scuba tank, regulator and buoyancy vest floating off cliffs below the Makapuu Lighthouse. About two hours later her body was found, 60 feet below the surface on a ledge in the cave, about a half-mile from where her gear was discovered. She still had her weight belt on.

Incident analysis

Too little information. From what is given here, it almost sounds like foul play. Why would the last piece of equipment discarded in the midst of drowning be the weight belt? Why, indeed?

Summary

Scuba diver Sue Turner became separated from group, entered a cave, and was found deceased with equipment discarded nearby.

References

  1. AP "Diver's death puzzles friends" The Argus (Fremont, Newark and Union City, CA) December 27, 1984.
This record was last updated on 27th Apr 2024 at 23:11 UTC. The data was processed and input using AI.