ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – First responders are out searching for a possible missing diver at Wekiva Springs State Park.
Orange County Fire Rescue Lt. Brandon Allen said they received a call around 11 a.m. Tuesday from someone who said a free diver went into the underwater cave system and didn’t resurface. Rescue crews are searching the water and grounds near 1800 Weikiva Circle for any signs of the diver.
As of 12:45 p.m., the male diver had not been located, although Allen said there’s a chance he could have resurfaced somewhere else.
“It could be possible that he did come up in a different way, especially in the summertime, nice weather and it’s really crowded and when somebody dives down, they could always pop up at another location and not even know it,” Allen said.
They also haven’t been able to locate anyone who went to the park with the diver.
OCFR searched three caves for 45 minutes before turning the operation over to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
Allen said free diving, which involves going underwater without any kind of oxygen system, can be dangerous.
“Absolutely this cave system, it’s fun to see from the surface and a lot of people obviously come here and look down into the cave but to free dive and to go into that overhead environment, especially without any kind of safety equipment like scuba diving equipment, is very dangerous,” Allen said.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. Stay with News 6 for updates.