A diver reported overdue from a commercial dive vessel off Key Largo, Florida, was located and rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard boat crew on Saturday, July 11, in an operation that officials say was aided directly by the diver’s use of a delayed surface marker buoy (DSMB).
The Coast Guard Station Islamorada boat crew rescued the overdue diver after he was reported missing from a dive vessel roughly five miles off John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo. The crew located the diver within the initial search area and transported him to emergency medical services at Garden Cove Marina, where he was reported in stable condition. uscg
According to the Coast Guard, Sector Key West watchstanders received a report from the crew of the dive vessel Island Hopper at approximately 11:45 a.m. that a 45-year-old male diver had failed to return to the surface about 15 minutes after his scheduled resurfacing time. Watchstanders responded by issuing an urgent marine information broadcast and dispatching a Station Islamorada boat crew to search the area, with a Coast Guard Air Station Miami helicopter crew and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission air and surface units also joining the response. uscguscg
Coast Guard officials credited the diver’s safety equipment with speeding up the search. Petty Officer 2nd Class Damian Burnham, a member of the Station Islamorada boat crew, said the diver was located because he was carrying a DSMB, which allowed responders to pinpoint his position roughly a quarter-mile away. Burnham noted that carrying a DSMB significantly improves a diver’s visibility at the surface and can meaningfully speed up locating a diver in open water, an assessment that aligns with long-standing guidance from dive training agencies on surface signaling equipment. uscg
The incident occurred in one of the busiest recreational diving corridors in the United States. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park and the surrounding waters off Key Largo see heavy year-round dive traffic, including reef and wreck diving operations run from live-aboard and day-boat operators throughout the Upper Keys.
Following the rescue, the Coast Guard reiterated its standard guidance for divers: carry emergency signaling equipment, remain in communication with the surface vessel, and make sure someone ashore is aware of the dive plan before departure. uscg
The rescue is a reminder for operators and divers across the Red Sea and other international dive destinations that basic surface-signaling equipment — inexpensive and simple to deploy — remains one of the most effective tools for reducing search-and-rescue response times when a diver fails to surface on schedule.
(Editor’s note: All figures and quotes in this piece are sourced directly from the official U.S. Coast Guard press release dated July 11, 2026.)
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