Mystery solved in haunting case of diver who vanished in 2006, Florida cops say

The mysterious case of a scuba diver lost off Florida in 2006 has been solved after 19 years, though the resolution is no less haunting.

DNA tests have confirmed human remains found by a Florida beachgoer in 2007 were those of missing diver Robert Martin, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Martin vanished off Ponce Inlet and his remains turned up about a 15-mile drive south of there at New Smyrna Beach, officials said. His gear was also recovered around the same time “at another diving spot east of Ponce Inlet,” the sheriff’s office said.

“In 2006, the U.S. Coast Guard responded to a distress call about 20 miles east of Ponce Inlet at a popular diving spot known as the ‘party grounds.’ Martin was diving with two associates when he became distressed and went underwater,” the sheriff’s office says.

Volusia County Chief Medical Examiner James Fulcher says Martin’s recovered diving equipment provided clues as to what may have happened, WESH reports.

“We believe he became trapped under some rocks while looking for lobsters. We know he was lobstering, and he took off his buoyancy compensator vest, which holds the tank and regulator,” Fulcher told the station. “The decedent came up and yelled for help — and then was never seen again.”

His death has been ruled accidental, the sheriff’s office said.

A DNA match was made with the help of a grant from the Missing and Unidentified Human Remains Program, the sheriff’s office said. Othram, Inc. did the DNA sequencing, leading the state’s genetic genealogy investigations team to a match in May, officials said.

The “Party Grounds” dive site off Ponce Inlet is “a broad area of natural ledges” about 80 to 100 feet below the surface, according to Volusia County Reef Report.

Ponce Inlet is about a 65-mile drive northeast from Orlando.

This story was originally published June 16, 2025 at 12:29 PM with the headline "Mystery solved in haunting case of diver who vanished in 2006, Florida cops say."