Posted by Ken Kurtis on October 10, 2002 at 01:03:47:
I talked with one of my "reliable sources" tonight about the death last week in Avalon. Not a lot of solid "facts" here but definitely dispels some of the bad info that's been going around about this. Here's what I was told:
1. Woman was found on the bottom by her buddy.
2. No mention of buddy separation so don't know if the buddy was right with her when this happened or not.
3. No specific depth mentioned but am told she WAS within the Park boundaries, which means no deeper than 60-70' (depending on the tide) and could have been much shallower.
4. No mention of any anchor or rapid ascent. (The fact she was on the bottom, and not floating on the surface, would tend to discount the whole "anchor" story.)
5. Not sure if she was on a training dive or not.
6. Buddy brought her up and in.
7. Avalon Baywatch was on another call (plane crash) so Avalon Paramedics responded.
8. Victim was taken to Avalon Hospital and pronounced dead.
9. Because of #8, she was never transported to, nor treated at, the Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber.
Ken Kurtis
NAUI Instr. #5936
Co-owner, Reef Seekers Dive Co.
Beverly Hills, CA