Helicopters and airplanes, as well as volunteer divers and boaters, are once again searching for Toronto filmmaker and conservationist Rob Stewart, who has been missing since Tuesday after disappearing following a dive off the Florida Keys.
Aircraft from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Miami, as well as a Navy helicopter, are scanning the waters and chain of islands between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico off Florida's southern tip. So far, some 3,948 square miles have been searched over 62 search hours, Petty Officer 3rd Class Eric Woodall told CBC Toronto on Friday.
U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge searches the waters off the Florida Keys for missing Canadian filmmaker Rob Stewart. (U.S. Coast Guard Southeast/Twitter)
While weather conditions have been favourable for the search, the chances of finding Stewart alive "get smaller as time goes on," Woodall said.
"But [as] part of our search patterns we factor in the athletic ability and experience in the water of the missing person, as well as the equipment they have with them," he said.
On Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard Southeast tweeted photos of Coast Guard divers preparing side-scan sonar, which is used to scan large areas of the sea floor. The account also provided a phone number for anyone looking to volunteer in the search for Stewart: 305-292-8727.
Coast Guard divers prepare side scan sonar at Station Islamorada to support search for Rob Stewart off FL Keys http://pic.twitter.com/qMmcSrlajY
— @USCGSoutheast
A Coast Guard spokesperson said Wednesday that Stewart, 37, was "diving on a wreck off of Islamorada" with three other divers when he went missing, but the three others completed the dive safely.
Stewart resurfaced at the end of the dive, but as the boat was preparing to pick him up, he went back under and was not seen again.
While it wasn't clear what made Stewart go back under water, his sister, Alexandra Stewart, told CBC Toronto earlier this week that it was a "particularly difficult" dive, going to a depth of nearly 70 metres.
She said her brother may have lost consciousness after doing a third dive that day.
Stewart is best known for his 2006 documentary Sharkwater, an examination of global shark hunting and its impact on the ocean ecosystem, and was active in underwater filming.
Alexandra Stewart said that her brother's latest dive was part of work on the film's upcoming sequel, Sharkwater: Extinction.
Sharkwater premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and has since won more than 40 awards at film festivals around the world.
Stewart's second film, Revolution, was the highest-grossing Canadian documentary in 2013 and won 19 awards from global film festivals.
Stewart was born and raised in Toronto, and studied biology at Western University in London, Ont.
His family has set up a GoFundMe campaign to mobilize more resources for the search. As of Friday morning, the campaign had raised more than $150,000.
On Thursday, a Coast Guard spokesperson said 13 volunteer aircraft and 20 volunteer boats were part of the search that afternoon. As many as 15 volunteer divers had joined the search on Wednesday.
Woodall could not provide updated volunteer numbers early Friday morning.
Canadian filmmaker Rob Stewart still missing as search continues off Florida Keys
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