The search to rescue a North Carolina tourist who disappeared while scuba diving in the Cayman Islands was changed today to \"recovery\" phase because officials no longer believe he could be alive. <\/p>\n
David Byles, 57, of Pinehurst, N.C., was scuba diving with his wife as part of an organized group dive off Seven Mile Beach on Sunday when he disappeared between the time he surfaced around 10:20 a.m. and the 100 yard swim to the party's awaiting boat, according to Royal Cayman Islands Police Service. <\/p>\n
\"We're now in our third day of searching and it's extremely unlikely that Mr. Byles will be found alive,\" Inspector Ian Yearwood, commander for the Police Marine unit, told ABC News while on board one of the search and recovery boats. \"We've informed his wife, but obviously as each day goes by the chances grow slimmer.\" <\/p>\n
\"We do not see any suspicious circumstances in this case,\" Yearwood added. <\/p>\n
Byles' diving equipment including tank and buoyancy control device along with an article of clothing have been recovered by police near Barracuda Reef. <\/p>\n
None of the 14 other people in the diving party including two instructors had noticed Byles was missing until they had re-boarded the boat. Byles' wife, Rita, thought he had boarded ahead of her but raised the alarm after discovering he was no longer with the group, officials said. <\/p>\n
After the boat crew failed to find any trace of Byles in the immediate area, police launched a search and rescue operation which turned into a search and recovery operation this afternoon. <\/p>\n
Twenty-eight people are currently involved in the search, including 13 divers and 15 police personnel. <\/p>\n
Sunset House, a resort that operates dives where David and Rita Byles were staying, told ABC News that there was no indication that Byles was in distress when he surfaced, and that all reports from family and friends indicated he was in \"great health.\" <\/p>\n
\"This is just completely unexpected,\" Sunset House General Manager Keith Sahm said. \"The thing that's really aggravating is that it's not like anything happened to him under the water... He surfaced and then he was gone,\" <\/p>\n
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Hope Diminishes for N.C. Diver Missing Off Cayman Islands<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The search to rescue a North Carolina tourist who disappeared while scuba diving in the Cayman Islands was changed today to \"recovery\" phase because officials no longer believe he could be alive. David Byles, 57, of Pinehurst, N.C., was scuba diving with his wife as part of an organized group dive off Seven Mile Beach on Sunday when he disappeared between the time he surfaced around 10:20 a.m. and the 100 yard swim to the party's awaiting boat, according to Royal Cayman Islands Police Service Continue reading