Sheriff's Office: Body of second Lake Michigan scuba diver recovered

Sheriff’s Office: Body of second Lake Michigan scuba diver recovered
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Updated: 6:57 p.m. on July 1, 2019

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The body of missing diver James Winn has been recovered as of Monday, according to the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office.

MCSO says the investigation remains ongoing.

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Updated: 5:08 p.m. on June 29, 2019

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office has released the identities of those involved in a scuba diving accident.

The woman who was pronounced dead has been identified as Susan Winn, 53, of Kildeer, Illinois.

Her husband who is still missing but presumed dead has been identified as James Winn, 53, of Kildeer, Illinois.

The investigation remains ongoing.  

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Updated: 11:02 a.m. on June 29, 2019

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Coast Guard suspended the search for a missing diver 17 miles offshore from Milwaukee on Saturday.

According to the Coast Guard, a woman was unresponsive on Friday afternoon after returning to the surface from a depth of 300 feet. She was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The Coast Guard then received another call from the same vessel, stating that one of the three other divers had become separated and was missing.

The missing male diver may have been using an underwater propulsion vehicle which caused them to expand the search area.

Coast Guard and police crews searched 237 square miles collectively over 20 hours and have suspended the search Saturday morning pending further new information.

Of the four divers who were in the water two are uninjured, one is still missing, and one was pronounced dead.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office is conducting the investigation. 

Stay with CBS 58 News for more information on this developing story. 

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Updated: 6:56 p.m. on June 28, 2019

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A woman died in a scuba diving accident in Lake Michigan Friday, according to the Milwaukee Medical Examiner's Office. No further details have been provided, pending family notification.

The search continues for a second diver who is missing.

The Milwaukee County Sheriff's Office says these divers were part of a four person diving team. Two of the divers were uninjured.

The U.S. Coast Guard got a call Friday afternoon of a scuba diver unconscious and floating in the water.

“The dive charter pulled that person on board, began doing CPR," U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Alexander Hill said. "We launched our 45  foot response boat here in Milwaukee, and a helicopter launched from the air facility in Waukegan.”

The first diver was later pronounced dead at the Coast Guard station.

But the diving expedition was not able to stop right away  because the divers were 300 feet under water.

“When we picked up the first diver, they still had three divers in the water," Hill said. "So the dive boat obviously had to stay on scene because the depth that they were diving required decompression steps to come back up. So they obviously couldn’t leave the scene with the divers in the water.

The Coast Guard later got a second call,  that one of the three remaining divers was separated from the group.

“We thought the first case was kind of a standalone," Hill said. "And when we found out there was a second person missing, our boat went out, the helicopter refueled.”

Milwaukee Police are now taking over the investigation  and were photographing scuba equipment of the diving boat ALMA which returned to the investigation scene.

The Coast Guard wants to stress safety when utilizing lake Michigan this summer.

“Boating traffic is going to increase," Hill said. "Recreational use of the lake is going to increase. We just want to remind people to be safe. Check your equipment, let someone know where you’re going, and just be safe on the water.”

We called the Illinois company that owns the ALMA. They recommended we reach out to the Milwaukee County Sheriff.

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Posted: 5:47 p.m. on June 28, 2019

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Coast Guard officials are looking for a missing scuba diver in Lake Michigan and have rushed another unconscious diver from the same boat on to land.

The Coast Guard says this is happening about 20 miles off shore and involves a recreational diving boat. 

The diver that has been pulled was unconscious and had CPR performed on him before he was taken back to shore. 

Right now crews are in the water looking for that second diver.

"There are certain factors that will dictate how long we can be out there, and that has to do with the environmental conditions on scene, how long our crew can be out safe," U.S. Coast Guard Executive Petty Officer Alexander Hill said. "We call it the fatigue factor, how much fuel they have on scene obviously before they have to come back in."

This is an active situation happening 20 miles off the Milwaukee shoreline. 

Stay with CBS 58 for more information as we learn more.

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