St. George doctor dies on Catalina scuba diving trip

Rescue crews search for missing diver, Catalina Island, California, date not specified | Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard Los Angeles, for St. George News

ST. GEORGE – Search crews have found the body of a missing Santa Clara man who disappeared Monday while scuba diving near Catalina Island, California.

The man was 40-year-old Jared Royer, who worked as an anesthesiologist at Dixie Regional Medical Center in St. George.

Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Special Enforcement Bureau's Twitter feed
Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Enforcement Bureau’s Twitter feed, screen shot taken Oct. 3, 2014 | Click on photo to enlarge

Royer was part of a group on the dive boat Sand Dollar.

The search for Royer began after the dive boat captain told the U.S. Coast Guard a diver from his boat had gone missing Monday night. The boat’s captain said the diver surfaced from the water, cried for help, then slipped back underwater.

Assisting in the search were helicopter aircrews from Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles and Coast Guard Sector San Diego; Station Los Angeles-Long Beach 45-foot Response Boat crews; Coast Guard patrol boats; Los Angeles Port Police; Los Angeles County Fire Department; and Los Angeles County Sheriffs.

Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Special Enforcement Bureau's Twitter feed
Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Enforcement Bureau’s Twitter feed, screen shot taken Oct. 3, 2014 | Click on photo to enlarge

The Coast Guard suspended its active search for Royer in Emerald Bay on Catalina Island Wednesday evening, according to a U.S. Coast Guard press statement, after Coast Guard boat and air crews scoured approximately 587 square nautical miles, spending more than 69 hours in search patterns.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s Special Enforcement Bureau diving team eventually located Royer’s body Thursday at a depth of 100 feet.

Investigation into the death is ongoing.

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Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2014, all rights reserved.

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7 Comments

  • Bender October 3, 2014 at 2:21 pm

    Brad Brian, who died in the recent Santa Clara small plane crash was also an anesthesiologist at Dixie Regional. Also about the same age. Tough break for the families.

  • cranky October 3, 2014 at 5:24 pm

    what a confusing written article, first the bodies found then the coast suspends a search then the sheriff finds it. Nothing about why? links go nowhere but to twitter blogs ??????

  • mesaman October 3, 2014 at 7:33 pm

    I didn’t know about this tragedy, I take the Spectrum where local news is forbidden.

  • San October 3, 2014 at 7:36 pm

    Unless I am mistaken, it’s been a rough year for anesthesiology at DRMC. I think the one who helped with my husband’s surgery died this year as well. Prayers. 🙁

  • Bobber October 3, 2014 at 9:40 pm

    The ocean should be respected. Not a fool-proof activity

    • Koolaid October 4, 2014 at 10:55 am

      If you have a family, reconsider doing risky things. Kinda selfish to do risky and possibly hazardous activities without thinking of the impact an accident may have on others. Remember that guy who crawled down a underground tunnel and got stuck and died? He had a family, too. Odd place that is against places for adults to congregate and socialize, unless it’s a church, but gives its blessings to parents doing extremely risky and dangerous things. They just say their hearts go out and lets have a fundraiser.

  • Kenneth Jensen October 4, 2014 at 12:24 am

    These doctors at Dixie reginal are good at what they do I thank every one of them keep up the good work! 🙂

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