ISLAMORADA, Fla. – The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a diver who has been missing since Saturday afternoon.
Matthew Milton, 32, of Orlando, left Islamorada with his brother-in-law, 35-year-old Jeffrey Stewart, aboard a boat at 7 a.m. Saturday and were scheduled to return at 5 p.m. the same day.
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According to Monroe County Sheriff's Office, the two were a mile south of Crocker Reef, planning their last dive because they knew the weather was supposed to turn rough. After dropping their anchor, they entered the water for their dive.
Deputies said when they went to surface they could not find their anchor line. After surfacing, they reportedly saw the boat drifting away and began to swim after it, becoming separated from each other after about two hours, neither of them catching up to the boat.
Stewart told officials he yelled at a nearby dive boat but could not get their attention before they left the area.
After Coast Guard divers were notified the boaters were overdue, the Cutter Dependable found Stewart clinging to a mooring ball approximately three miles off the coast of Islamorada, but were unable to locate Milton.
Deputies said Stewart was treated for a mild case of hypothermia.
As of Monday morning, Coast Guard crews had searched more than 1,200 square miles in waters 15 miles off the coast of Islamorada for Milton.