SEATTLE – Coast Guard crews, a Navy helicopter crew and local emergency responders are searching for a 50-year-old diver in Commencement Bay near Tacoma, Wednesday.
A 45-foot Response Boat – Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Seattle alongside divers from the Tacoma Police Department and Tacoma Fire and Rescue are on scene. Crews aboard a Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Port Angeles and a Navy MH-60 Seahawk from Air Station Whidbey Island are also searching the area.
The Coast Guard Cutter Terrapin, an 87-foot patrol boat from Bellingham, has been diverted to the scene from another mission.
Watchstanders from the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound command center received a call from the Tacoma Police Department reporting the diver missing and seeking additional search assets at 2:30 p.m. Tacoma Police Department and Tacoma Fire and Rescue divers were already searching.
The watchstanders directed the launch of Coast Guard crews and issued an urgent marine information broadcast to alert mariners in the area to keep a sharp lookout and report any sightings of the diver to the command center.
“We are working closely with our local partners to conduct a thorough search of the area,” said Lt. John McKenzie, with Sector Puget Sound. “We ask that anyone with information on the case or sightings of the diver contact us at 206-217-6001 or on VHF-FM Channel 16.”
The missing woman is reportedly a recreational diver out with a group, and was engaged in her first open water dive.