JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Coast Guard says it has suspended the search for a 37-year-old diver reported missing off the coast of Mayport last weekend.
Timothy Obi was reported missing on Saturday while diving and spearfishing offshore. Friends say he didn't return to the boat.
Crews found diving equipment that matched what was being used by Obi at about 1 p.m. Tuesday roughly 250 yards from where he was diving. The Coast Gaurd reports the equipment was damaged.
"The location and condition of the gear are consistent with a suspected encounter with a marine predator," said Captain Mark Vlaun, commander of Coast Guard Jacksonville Sector, in a statement.
Vlaun reported it was a volunteer boat that helped find the equipment.
Holden Harris, a friend of Obi's and one of the many volunteers in the search, said he was on the boat that found the equipment.
"At this point in the search, the chances of a [good] outcome probably weren't well," Harris said. "It's a hard thing to see that, but at the same time, it is good in a way that we can really get a sense of what happened."
Holden said he disputes the release by the Coast Guard, believing it to imply that Obi died from a shark attack.
"All the gear was together," he said. "The way everything was altogether really isn't consistent with a potential shark attack. So the way the Coast Guard worded their statement implies that the cause of death might have been a shark attack, and we certainly don't know what it was, but I could very strongly indicate that it wasn't the case."
Holden, however, does believe that sharks were involved, but only after Obi had died.
"What seems most likely to me is that there was some sort of medical emergency, and the way he hit the ground with everything intact, right in that same place, means he was probably unconscious or deceased at that point," Holden said. "I think what happened, and what would be reasonable, is that sharks came later."
Vlaun later released a clarification saying the Coast Guard is not saying whether a predator was the cause of Obi's death.
"I am incredibly thankful for the outpouring of support in the Jacksonville community and for the hundreds of volunteers who took to the air and sea throughout this search effort," Vlaun said in his original statement. "I am indebted to our many mission partners: Florida Fish and Wildlife, Customs and Border Patrol Air and Marine Operations, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Naval Air Station Jacksonville, and USS Lassen."
Hundreds of Obi's family and friends gathered for a vigil on Tuesday night.
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His brother, Ryan Obi, gave this statement to First Coast News earlier in the day:
"We would like to thank the crews from the USCG, JSO, JFRD, FWC, and all the volunteers for their compassion, their professionalism, and their steadfast dedication to finding Timmy. The USCG, in particular, have been absolutely amazing providing detailed daily updates; being available and responsive literally all hours of the day; and bringing real humanity in an inhuman ordeal. We are eternally grateful to all of them."
Obi is both a husband and father to three young children. He is also a well-known member of the local diving community.
"Actually, one of my first dives with the dive shop offshore was with Tim and he was always a safe diver, never reckless or anything like that," Bailey Rowland, who works at Atlantic Pro Divers, told First Coast News Monday.
For four days, the U.S. Coast Guard, along with dozens of volunteers, helped search for Obi, covering more than 3,800 square nautical miles over about 89 hours.
Several agencies were involved in the search, including Florida Fish and Wildlife, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
According to Jacksonville's sector of the Coast Guard, a C-144 aircraft from Air Station Miami conducted surface searches Monday. U.S. Customs and Border Protection helped the search by air.