Missing diver's plight a mystery

Adam Cooper - 

Mystery surrounds the failure of an experienced scuba diver from Preston to surface in perfect conditions from one of Victoria's most popular dive spots.

Police and divers, who will resume the search this morning, say there is little chance of finding the 42-year-old woman alive after she was reported missing about 3.30pm on Saturday after diving around a shipwreck off Point Lonsdale.

An extensive sea and shore search by the police, coast guard, diving vessels and SES failed to find the woman, who had logged more than 50 dives in Victorian waters.

The woman had finished diving with a charter group around the wreck of the SS Coogee in an area known as "Ships Graveyard" when she was separated from her dive buddy while on the way back to the surface.

The police air wing continued the search through Saturday night and into yesterday morning, when police divers searched the shipwreck.

Volunteers also searched beaches in the area and on the other side of Port Phillip Bay, at Point Nepean and Sorrento.

Inspector Gary Bruce said the pair had dived together before and were following the right procedures, but that there was nothing to indicate exactly what went wrong.

"We're at a bit of a loss. It's one of those situations where, will we ever know ?

I'm not sure," he said.

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