Crews searching for state diver presumed drowned of Bainbridge Island
Jul 26, 2012, 6:34 AM | Updated: 7:36 am
The search continues Thursday for a state Department of Natural Resources diver presumed drowned off the south end of Bainbridge Island.
“There are investigations going on now,” says Toni Droscher, with the Department of Natural Resources. “He is presumed dead.”
Island police Cmdr. Sue Shultz says a number of divers are searching in the strong currents of Rich Passage.
The department says 24-year-old David D. Scheinost of Puyallup was part of a dive team sampling geoduck clams Tuesday for paralytic shellfish poisoning when he sank out of sight.
The Coast Guard, Navy and Kitsap County sheriff’s office are helping look for the body.
Scheinost is a 2010 graduate of the Divers Institute of Technology in Seattle.
“He came to work for DNR just last February,” says Droscher.
Gov. Chris Gregoire says, “He was performing work that served the people of Washington state and for that he will not be forgotten.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
