National Post (National Edition)
Searching and hoping after Canadian filmmaker lost at sea
In a recent Instagram post, Canadian diver and moviemaker Rob Stewart seemed stoked to be back in the water filming a sequel to his 2006 documentary Sharkwater, which exposed the underbelly of the global sharkhunting trade.
“For the first time,” he wrote, “I can show you sharks through my eyes … because the cameras can shoot fast and high res(olution) enough for you to see the personality in #sharks faces.”
But late Tuesday afternoon, Stewart, 37, vanished in the waters off the Florida Keys, sparking a massive search effort by sea and air and an urgent plea from his family for help from volunteers.
Stewart disappeared around 5:15 p.m. near Alligator Reef, about four nautical miles southeast of the sun-kissed village of Islamorada. He had come up from his third dive of the day near the Queen of Nassau shipwreck, where he was filming sawfish, and gave the “OK” sign, said his sister, Alexandra Stewart, from Toronto.
One of his diving companions apparently struggled to get back onto the boat and fell unconscious, which created some commotion, she said.
“In that commotion, the boat lost sight of my brother.”
Alexandra Stewart said Wednesday while the news of her brother’s disappearance was “horrific and devastating,” she was clinging to hope he would be found alive.
“We’ve learned that people can survive for more than 72 hours in this water because it’s warm, which is wonderful news,” she said.
“The conditions are bright and calm, which is perfect for searching … I’m hanging on to the good news we’re hearing.”
U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Jonathan Lally said a Coast Guard cutter, smallboat crew, helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft were all taking part in the search Wednesday, covering an 18by-40 kilometre area.
As Stewart’s parents and brother-in-law made their way to Florida, his sister stayed in Toronto, appealing for help with the search on social media. She said her family was willing to pay private volunteers and had started a GoFundMe page to raise funds.
“It is so critical to find somebody who’s been lost at sea quickly. You can imagine the number of things that can go wrong as you get further from the event,” she said.
Among those involved in the search was a patrol boat belonging to the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, founded by “renegade” activist Paul Watson, with whom Stewart collaborated on Sharkwater.
“I spoke with the U.S. Coast Guard. They said they were making an intensive effort and advised that we not enter the primary search area but agreed that we can search to the north of the area where Rob was last seen,” Watson said on Instagram.
Sometimes having too many people involved in a search — “too many hands in the kitchen” — can hamper search efforts, Lally cautioned.
“You don’t want to be an unsafe environment.”
Alexandra Stewart said she understood her brother had been diving with at least one staff member from Horizon Divers, a scuba diving tour company based in Key Largo, Fla., when he disappeared. The call for help came from someone aboard Horizon’s 30-foot dive boat, the Pisces, officials said.
An employee who answered the phone at the company Wednesday declined to comment other than to say they were working with authorities to locate Stewart.
“We’re actively participating in the search and co-operating in the investigation of what caused the tragedy,” the employee said. “Out of respect for Rob and his family we’re not going to make any further comment until the investigation is complete.”
Alexandra Stewart described her brother as “remarkably driven” and someone with an overriding passion for ocean conservation.
In one promotional video posted online, Rob Stewart stares into the camera and says: “We’ve all been told that sharks are monsters and because of that people haven’t wanted to fight for their protection. The reality with sharks is totally different. Sharks are sophisticated, intelligent, often-shy creatures that aren’t interested in eating humans.”
“When we were young we had all kinds of creatures — snakes and Komodo dragons — but mostly things that live in the water,” his sister said. “We all started diving as a family when he was 13 because that was the earliest age you could start diving.
“He really turned his passion into his vocation.”
I’M HANGING ON TO THE GOOD NEWS WE’RE HEARING.