A Great Lakes underwater explorer has died after diving on a newly found shipwreck in Lake Erie.
The U.S. Coast Guard announced on X (formerly Twitter) that it was searching for a missing 72-year-old male recreational diver in Lake Erie. The search was being conducted six miles off Cleveland.
Unfortunately, hours after the post was made, the U.S. Coast Guard that divers from Ohio’s Lake County recovered a body. It was confirmed to be the missing man.
According to Cleveland.com, the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as 70-year-old David VanZandt of Lakewood, a suburb outside of Cleveland. He was recovered from Lake Erie near the East Ninth Street pier in Cleveland.
The media outlet stated that VanZandt was the co-founder, director, and chief archaeologist for Cleveland Underwater Explorers, Inc. (also known as CLUE)
The group then announced in a post that VanZandt had been conducting the group’s first excursion, which would take place in the newly found shipwreck.
However, VanZandt failed to return to the boat following the excursion. He suffered from what appeared to be a “fatal diving accident.”
“Our condolences to his wife and family,” the organization further wrote in the post.
According to the group’s website, VanZandt was described as the “semi-retired” senior principal engineer at ZIN Technologies, Inc. He also specialized in space flight hardware for NASA Glenn Research Center.
He had more than 40 years of experience designing, building, testing, and operating fluids and combustion experiments on the Space Shuttle as well as sounding rockets, and the International Space Station.
Organization Collaborated With Explorers Mary and Larry Howard on Lake Erie Shipwreck Identification Project
In an update on its main page, the Cleveland Underwater Explorers, Inc. announced it had collaborated with explorers Mary and Larry Howard on a Lake Erie shipwreck identification project.
The organization reported that Howards had side-scanned Lake Erie for many years searching for shipwrecks. Starting at the Port of Erie, PA then progressing to Conneaut, OH, and the later years in Geneva, OH.
“During their survey work they have discovered over 30 shipwrecks,” the organization noted. “Several of which they were unable to identify.”
The organization further noted that the purpose of the collaboration with the Hwoards was to survey, research, and attempt to identify those unknown shipwrecks they discovered during their searches.
The Cleveland Underater Explorers, Inc. listed more than 21 identified shipwrecks on its website. Among those listed are the Anthony Wayne, Buried Tug, Dump Barge, Dundee, and Riverside.