A missing diver’s body was recovered in the Atlantic Ocean on Friday, nearly five hours after a Mayday call involving the man off the Fort Pierce Inlet. The U.S. Coast Guard Station in Fort Pierce and St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Marine Unit heard a Mayday call at approximately 11:30 a.m. over VHF Channel 16.

The Coast Guard notified the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and deployed four vessels to assist in the search effort, the sheriff’s office said. A group of civilian boaters, who were friends of the missing diver, were notified of the emergency and departed the Fort Pierce Inlet at approximately 1 p.m. to aid in the search.

Aerial support was provided by the United States Coast Guard and FWC. Responding units found the vessel the diver used, approximately 6 to 7 miles north-northeast of the Fort Pierce Inlet and nearly due east of Avalon State Park.

At approximately 4:10 p.m., the civilian divers entered the water and successfully located the missing diver at the bottom of the ocean in approximately 55 feet of water, the sheriff’s office said. The diver was recovered, pronounced deceased and taken to Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce.

The St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigations Division will investigate the circumstances. “On behalf of Sheriff Richard Del Toro and the SLCSO, our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the deceased,” the agency posted on Facebook.

Original reporting: WPBF (Treasure Coast / Hearst) — read the source article.