Spearfisherman vanished 2.5 miles off Florida coast, cops say. Body has been found

A 22-year-old man who vanished while spearfishing off Florida’s Atlantic coast has been found dead, with his spear gun deployed, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.

The angler has been identified as Max Robertson of Utah, and it’s not clear how he died, the sheriff’s office said in a June 9 news release.

“There were no obvious signs of trauma,” the sheriff’s office said. “MCSO’s Criminal Investigations Division will be handling the incident. The medical examiner will determine the cause of death.”

An air and water search was launched June 9 by multiple agencies after Robertson had been missing for more than an hour, officials said. The announcement that his body had been recovered came about two-and-a-half hours later.

“Max was free diving and spear fishing with a group of friends when they say, he dove into the water with his spear gun, but never resurfaced,” the sheriff’s office said. “His friends immediately called for help.”

The Martin County Fire Rescue’s Dive Team found his body “about 50 feet down,” officials said.

Waters off Martin County are popular with divers and saltwater anglers due to “numerous thriving natural and artificial reefs” that attract a variety of sea life, according to Discovermartincounty.com. The reefs are plentiful enough to stretch across two miles of seafloor, and can be found more than 90 feet deep, the county reports.

Martin County is about 110 miles north of Miami.

This story was originally published June 12, 2023 at 9:56 AM with the headline "Spearfisherman vanished 2.5 miles off Florida coast, cops say. Body has been found."