WEEKI WACHEE, Fla. — Authorities say the bodies of two divers have been recovered from underwater caves in the Tampa Bay area.
In an email, Hernando County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Denise Moloney said deputies were called Sunday evening to the Eagle's Nest dive area in Weeki Wachee about two missing divers.
Moloney says Justin Blakely told the deputies that his two friends, Patrick Peacock and Chris Rittenmeyer, had traveled from Fort Lauderdale to dive with him. Blakely said both were experienced divers familiar with the caves.
Blakely had stayed near the surface, and he alerted authorities several hours after Peacock and Rittenmeyer had been expected to check in.
Moloney says rescue divers located Peacock's and Rittenmeyer's bodies Monday in 260 feet of water in "a very dangerous and complex area of the cave system."
Associated Press