UPDATE: Body Of New Jersey Diver Found In Hudson Valley Mine

UPDATE 2 p.m. — The body of a scuba diver has been recovered today from deep water in the former Tilly Foster iron mine in the Town of Southeast. The recovery concluded a search commenced after the man went missing while diving in the mine Sunday afternoon

The body of Robert Thomas, 48, of Jersey City, New Jersey, was recovered from the mine at about 12:55 p.m. Monday. Members of the New York State Police dive team, using sophisticated sonar and camera equipment, located the body at a depth of about 171 feet. They then lowered a cable from the surface, attached the cable to the body and lifted it out of the water.

Thomas was described as a very experienced technical diver who had gone diving in the former iron mine many times in the past. He was at the mine with two diving colleagues yesterday and went into the water at about noon, but then failed to resurface, police said.

Preliminary reports indicate that Mr. Thomas may have become entangled in wires or cables on the bottom of the flooded mine shaft. The old mine is filled with water ranging in depths from 175 to 600 feet, and the bottom is littered with wrecked cars and trucks, old mining equipment and other debris.

An autopsy will be performed to determine the exact cause of his death.

SOUTHEAST, NY — A scuba diver went missing Sunday afternoon at the old Tilly Foster Mine, Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reports. A search is underway for the New Jersey resident.

The area being searched is large, with the mine shafts having underwater depths ranging from about 175 to 600 feet and several side tunnels branching off.

Robert Thomas, 48, of Jersey City, went diving Sunday afternoon in waters at the site (also sometimes referred to as Simon’s Quarry), located off Old Mine Road in the Town of Southeast.

Thomas is described as a very experienced technical diver who has gone diving in the mine many times in the past.

On yesterday’s outing, he was at the mine with two diving colleagues, a man and a woman, police said. Thomas dove into the water at about noon, and the other man went in about an hour later. The woman remained on the surface.

The other diver surfaced at about 3 p.m., but Thomas did not emerge.

At around 3:50 p.m., the Sheriff’s Office received a telephone call from Thomas’ girlfriend in Queens, who reported that Thomas had gone diving at the mine and was overdue for a party at her house.

She requested that the Sheriff’s Office check on his welfare. A sheriff’s deputy patrolled to the mine and located Thomas’ colleagues, who apprised the deputy that Thomas was late in surfacing from his dive, given his air supply.

The Sheriff’s Office called for assistance from dive teams from the New York State Police and the Brewster and Mahopac Falls Volunteer Fire Departments to search for Thomas. The Putnam County Bureau of Emergency Services and the Brewster Volunteer Ambulance Corps also responded to the scene.

The search for Thomas is continuing, with dive teams using sophisticated sonar equipment to aid in probing the mine, the Sheriff's Office said Monday.

PHOTO: Anthony22 at the English language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0