‘EYES IN THE SKY’ PROTECT POLICE & PUBLIC

“They’re not villains,” he said. “They did call the Coast Guard. They weren’t comfortable being out at night. I think they just panicked.”

Coast Guard Lt. Paul Benyovszky, who was the command duty officer at Sector Key West on Jan. 19, said it’s not uncommon for a diver to drift far from the vessel, given the surface wind and currents that can move in different directions at the surface versus the bottom.

“Additionally, in that area of Western Sambo, the depth changes dramatically, which also contributes to shifting currents,” Benyovszky said.

“We got a missing diver distress call from someone aboard Dylan’s boat at 4:19 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 19,” Benyovszky said. “They had searched the area for Dylan for about an hour before calling us.”

The Coast Guard immediately launched a search vessel, based on Gartenmayer’s last known coordinates, and received assistance from a Coast Guard helicopter out of Miami, Benyovszky said.

“We were about a half-nautical mile away from the family’s own search boat, when we got a call at 6:35 p.m., saying they had found him,” Benyovszky said, adding that Coast Guard personnel examined Gartenmayer, ensured that his body’s core temperature was on the rise and released him to his family.

Benyovszky emphasized that “search and rescue operations are there for a reason. No one should ever hesitate to call us as soon as something doesn’t feel right. We have someone constantly manning channel 16 on the VHF radio and are always available by phone.”

He also reminded boaters to file a float plan and let someone on land know where they’re headed when they go out on the water.

“At least then we have a place to start the search,” Benyovszky said. “But as for this incident, we are just very, very thankful that this turned out as it did, because not all of those calls end as well as this one.”