diver

The sister of a missing American free diver who went missing in Bimini waters said she will not give up finding her brother, even though the Royal Bahamas Defense Force and the US Coast Guard called off the search.

In hopes that he is still alive, in a message to him she said, “Ryan, we will never stop looking for you.”

Nicole Proulx said Ryan went missing on Friday around 6 pm, while free diving in Bahamian waters near the Bimini Barge Wreck, approximately 1.5 miles west of Bimini Inlet, wearing a green UV hooded shirt, heather green athletic shorts, red dive fins, redfin keepers and green snorkels.

He was never found, but a blue pole, red fins, and green shorts were discovered in the surrounding waters on Sunday.

After the US Coast Guard and Royal Bahamas Defence Force suspended the search on Sunday, friends launched a GoFundMe, seeking $60,000 to find the 31-year-old former police officer. As of Monday, more than $30,000 was raised.

“Any money raised will go towards helping fly the volunteer dive team in this effort to bring Ryan home in an honorable manner that he deserves… If Ryan is found prior to this rescue trip, the money will go directly to his family. Any money left after the team goes over will go to the family also,” friend Shelby Morin said.

She described Ryan as a “friend and just an amazing guy.”

Ryan who is from Connecticut, left Palm Beach County Marina, Florida for Bimini last Thursday with a crew including his wife, after free diving around a sunken boat, when he disappeared.

The U.S. Coast Guard deployed two helicopters and a search plane to assist the Royal Bahamas Defense Force in the search but came up empty. After aircraft crews searched over 673 square miles for Ryan, the Coast Guard suspended the search.

“We offer our deepest condolences to the Proulx family,” Lt. Cmdr. Matt Spado, Coast Guard liaison officer, said in a tweet. “The decision to suspend the active search efforts pending further development is one we never take likely.”

Steve Diffenbacher, a friend said Ryan was a U.S.C.G. licensed boat captain and diver and often ran boats from the Northeast down to South Florida for clients who wanted to transport their boats.

Seventy-three-year-old Heidi Ernst, an American scuba diver whose leg was amputated when she was bitten by a shark in Grand Bahama last week, is defending the Grand Bahama Scuba Dive Center after it was hit with hate mails and negative reviews.

“They are not only the best dive shop but also saved my life,” she retorted.

Ernest said of the criticisms levelled against the scuba dive company since the attack, “They do not deserve this and it really pisses me off…It is uncalled for and so hurtful to people, my friends to be under attack.”

Ernst was climbing a ladder after finishing her dive when a shark grabbed her by the leg.

“I didn’t even see him approach me. He came from below, and it was just like a truck hit me. It was just like a scene out of a horror movie,” she told ABC7NY.

Ernst, an experienced scuba diver, then struck the shark to get it to open its jaw and praised her friend for his quick thinking in saving her life.

She was stabilized at the Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport and then taken by air ambulance to Jackson Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, FL. The extent of the wound and the infection required Ernest’s left leg amputation.

“She [the doctor] reconnected the nerves to muscles which promotes a good outcome with less pain and things like neuromas. And then she closed it up. Post-surgery is very painful and they had difficulty controlling my pain for almost two days,” she said.

Friends are seeking to raise $30,000 to assist with her medical expenses not covered by insurance, travel expenses to get her back home, travel expenses to get her to and from therapy appointments when she has returned home and other modifications needed in her home for physical assistance.

Ernst’s horror details circulated the international media and may have spurred criticisms at the dive company. “It was harmless consent on my part and now friends are being attacked. Please if you hear anyone badmouthing them, stop it in its tracks.”

Ernst said she will continue diving and has been looking for fins suited for amputees.