The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

POLICE divers were yesterday still searching for a young man who went missing while diving at Dean's Blue Hole in Long Island.

According to reports, 19-year-old Theron Maillis, of Clarence Town, Long Island, failed to surface after diving with friends shortly before 4pm on Sunday.

Dean's Blue Hole is known as the world's deepest blue hole.

Supt Elindy Knowles, of the Clarence Town police station, said as of yesterday, divers and police were still searching for Mr Maillis but to no avail.

"Negative so far with locating a body but the search is still going on," he said, saying that visibility often presented a problem while searching blue holes.

"Sunday was a little muddy at around 150 feet, yesterday we went to 235 feet with 30 feet visibility and before that it (visibility) was about ten feet," he said, adding that Dean's Blue Hole has a depth of a little over 660 feet.

"It's a sad case," he continued. "We're not going to give up searching - we're going to keep going to bring some closure."

Supt Knowles said fatal incidents in Dean's Blue Hole were rare with three deaths occurring in the past four years.

"People go there all the time and swim," he said. "We've gone years and years and nothing happened."

Supt Knowles said there were no warning signs in the area of the blue hole to warn divers of possible danger, but it was something police would now consider.

In July 2008, two women, aged 41 and 45, and a 14-year-old girl drowned in waters near Dean's Blue Hole.

Police said at the time one of the three was walking in the shallow waters of Dean's Cay when she unknowingly ventured into the blue hole and could not get out.

The other two, seeing her in distress, reportedly went to her aid but the three never made it to shore and died at the scene.

At the time, it was the first drowning incident at the site in six years.