Man missing after diving accident

[SmithDiving]

First of all, this incident is tragic for this young man's family, friends and community, and our sympathy goes out to them. Having lost my father-in-Law while diving I can understand a little of what they're going through. Although it must be of little comfort, our family was glad that our dad went out doing something he really loved.

I should point out a slight correction to the Star-Trib article. They quoted Josh (our store manager) as saying that we use a boat when diving in the river. Josh did not say this, and we do not. We do however always! dive the river tethered with a tender on shore for each diver (as in ice diving), and only dive in areas familiar to us and that do not offer too much current or entanglement issues (you never know what might be down there though).

Eric, I think I would put your hazards in a slightly different order.
1) Current
2) Entanglement
3) Debris
4) Low-vis
5) Cold

Entanglement and debris are hazards that we brief on very heavily, but nearly all of our students tell us that they were not expecting to have so much trouble with the current. It is very easy to get worn out and disoriented in these currents. In addition unless you are really prepared for it the possibility of hitting your head on something because of the current is very real. Needless to say this kind of diving requires specific training and a complete understanding of what you can expect underwater, and of yourself. We do not offer this training until Master Diver (NAUI) and I believe it is the most challenging of the 12 required dives for the course.