SAULNIERVILLE — Search and rescue crews continued to search for a missing scallop diver in St. Mary’s Bay on Sunday.
The 38-year-old man was reported missing at 3:15 p.m. Saturday when he failed to come to the surface. Another man on the small boat he was diving from called the coast guard on his cellphone to report the missing diver off the coast of Comeauville.
Daniel Pothier, father of the boat owner, identified the missing man as Daniel Maillet of Saulnierville Station in Digby County.
He said Mr. Maillet dove into St. Mary’s Bay and "all of a sudden they lost the bubbles and that was it."
The two men were alone on the six-metre fibreglass boat that doesn’t have a name.
Meteghan RCMP co-ordinated the search from the Saulnierville wharf. A Cormorant helicopter, two coast guard vessels and ground search and rescue teams from Clare and Digby were assisting with the search.
Sgt. Michel Lacroix said ground searchers looked for Mr. Maillet along the shores of Saulnierville and Comeauville on Saturday night while air and boat crews resumed the search Sunday morning.
Mr. Pothier said Mr. Maillet is an experienced recreational diver who used to dive for sea urchins.
He said he didn’t want to speculate why Mr. Maillet didn’t resurface after his dive but admitted it’s possible he ran out of air.
"We kind of think he’s on the bottom," Mr. Pothier said reluctantly.
Sgt. Lacroix said crews are still optimistic they’ll find the diver alive.
Mr. Pothier recalled an incident several years ago in which a recreational diver went missing in Digby County and was found alive several kilometres away where the current had taken him.
"He might be ashore somewhere," he said. "You never know."
Local recreational divers were on hand at the Saulnierville wharf on Sunday but didn’t go in the water because RCMP divers were handling the search.
Sgt. Lacroix said search and rescue crews would decide Sunday night whether to continue looking for Mr. Maillet this morning.