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Press Release | Aug. 7, 2023

Coast Guard suspends search for diver off Key West

Seventh Coast Guard District - 305-415-6680

MIAMI — The Coast Guard suspended the search for a missing diver, approximately 7 miles off Key West, Florida, Monday, pending new information.

Missing is 44-year-old Thomas Faulkenberry.

Crewmembers aboard the motor vessel Dream Cat contacted Coast Guard Sector Key West watchstanders, Wednesday at approximately 10:13 a.m., reporting one of their divers overdue from a dive to the site of the U.S.S. Vandenberg shipwreck.

“This was a tragic accident," said Capt. Jason Ingram, commander, Sector Key West. "Diving is an inherently dangerous activity. Mr. Faulkenberry’s passion for the sea is well remembered by the dive community here in the Keys and my deepest condolences are with his family at this difficult time.”

Rescue crews searched approximately 4,300 square miles, the estimated size of Connecticut, and a combined total of 152 hours.

Search and rescue crews include:

  • Coast Guard Air Station Miami
  • Coast Guard Station Key West
  • Coast Guard Cutter Margaret Norvell
  • Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous
  • Coast Guard Cutter Kathleen Moore
  • United States Naval Air Station Key West Marlin Search and Rescue Team
  • United States Army Special Forces Underwater Operations Dive School
  • Florida Army National Guard
  • Monroe County Sheriff's Office
  • Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Thomas Faulkenberry, please contact the Coast Guard Sector Key West command center at 305-292-8727.

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-USCG-