Despite ‘aggressive’ efforts, search for the missing diver near Beaufort was suspended
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After nearly a week, the search for the missing 49-year-old diver in the Port Royal Sound has been suspended.
The diver, Alan Devier of Charleston, was never found.
Several agencies and volunteers searched more than 7,580 square miles over the course of 168 hours, according to a U.S. Coast Guard news release.
“Despite that effort, we have been unable to locate Alan,” Capt. John Reed, Commander of Sector Charleston, said. “It is with a heavy heart that I have suspended our active search for him. The Devier family remains in my thoughts and prayers.”
Although the Coast Guard has suspended its search, Beaufort County Water Search & Rescue and S.C. Department of Natural Resources will continue to search for Devier, according to a Facebook post from his wife, Kim Devier.
Devier was a well-known diver and shark tooth fossil hunter in South Carolina’s Lowcountry. He had been diving for more than a decade, and Beaufort was his favorite place to do so, his wife recently told The Island Packet.
This was the second time in two months that Devier had gone missing in the Port Royal Sound. He had previously been rescued hours after he was reported missing.
The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, Beaufort County Marine Rescue Squadron, Beaufort County Water Search & Rescue, Fripp Island Fire and Rescue, Fripp Island Sea Rescue, Parris Island Fire and Emergency Services, S.C. Department of Natural Resources, S.C. Law Enforcement Division, Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, Coast Guard Air Facility Charleston, Coast Guard Station Charleston, Coast Guard Station Tybee Island, Coast Guard Cutter Pompano, Coast Guard Auxiliary, Coast Guard Clearwater, and other volunteers were involved in the search.
This story was originally published May 4, 2020 at 9:37 AM.
