Scuba diver dies despite rescue efforts

Steven Fletcher - 

A fun dive by a group of vacationers ended in the death of young man Monday.

Tyler Greathouse, 28, of Rowley, N.C., died while scuba diving with four family members near Popplestone Ledge, off Rafe’s Chasm.

The family members made a radio call about a diver in distress at 11:10 p.m. and a Coast Guard Station Gloucester crew, less than a half mile away, heard it.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Jeff Quinn and a crew from Station Gloucester picked up a garbled radio call at 11:10 p.m. during search and rescue training off the breakwater.

Quinn said they heard “Popplestone Ledge,” and something that sounded like “diver down,” and raced across the harbor.

It was a weak signal, he said, and came from a handheld radio.

Popplestone Ledge sits near Norman’s Woe, across the harbor from the Dog Bar breakwater.

People dive for recreation, and for lobsters in the reef around there, said Gloucester police Detective Steve Mizzoni.

Greathouse came up to Gloucester for a vacation and was diving for fun with family members.

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