No sign of filmmaker missing off Keys

The search for missing Canadian filmmaker and activist Rob Stewart, who disappeared while diving off the Florida Keys on Tuesday, continued into its second full day Thursday with no sign of him.

Stewart, 37, was last seen Tuesday at about 5:15 p.m. after resurfacing from a dive in about 230 feet of water near the Queen of Nassau shipwreck. The wreck is about seven miles south of Lower Matecumbe Key in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, near Alligator Reef.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class Eric Woodall said the search was continuing Thursday evening and the plan was to continue through the night, although the situation was dynamic. He couldn’t say how long the search would continue.

“It’s still an active search,” Woodall said.

On Thursday night, Rob Stewart’s parents Brian and Sandy Stewart said the Coast Guard had committed to searching through the day on Friday, but that they didn’t know how long the search might continue beyond that.

“We’re devastated,” Sandy Stewart said.

Mounting the search Thursday was the Coast Guard Cutter Richard Etheridge, boat crews from the Coast Guard stations in Marathon and Islamorada, two helicopters and an airplane, Woodall said. Also assisting were U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and civilian boats and aircraft manned by volunteers.

Stewart, a native of Toronto who lives in Los Angeles, Brian Stewart said, directed the 2006 documentary “Sharkwater,” which takes a critical look at the global shark-hunting trade. The movie won several awards at that year’s Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival.

Stewart’s productions, which include his other films “Revolution” (2012) and “The Fight For Bala” (2015), are known for their environmental activism. He was currently working on the sequel to “Sharkwater,” a project titled “Sharkwater: Extinction.”

Brian and Sandy Stewart flew from Toronto with their son-in-law and were in the Keys Wednesday and Thursday. Speaking by phone Wednesday about his son’s love of the oceans, and what he knew so far about the disappearance, Brian briefly broke down in tears.

On Thursday night, Brian and Sandy said from their hotel in Islamorada that they want anybody who might be out on the water off South Florida to be on the lookout.

The Stewarts co-founded the Toronto-based Tribute Media Entertainment Group, which publishes entertainment and movie-oriented magazines and websites.

Despite being encouraged by the number of people descending on the Florida Keys to help, they said not knowing where their son is has been overwhelming.

“People are rallying around this because my son was a very special human being, and he doesn’t deserve it,” Brian Stewart said.

“We’re so grateful that they’re doing that and we hope the efforts bring back Rob safely,” Sandy Stewart said.

She said her son was wearing a divesuit and rebreather that were all black, and that the expectation was that only his head would be above water.

Woodall said the Coast Guard sometimes tries to discourage volunteer assistance if the effort becomes too cluttered with other boats, but that generally it welcomes volunteers. He said any volunteers are welcome to contact the Cutter Richard Etheridge on marine channel 16, which is the coordinating ship. A Coast Guard tweet also provided the number for potential volunteers to call: 305-292-8727.

Sandy Stewart also said slow, low-flying planes and helicopters were needed, particularly between 8:30 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday.

Sandy Stewart said Richard Branson, the Virgin Group billionaire, had sent a helicopter on Wednesday to help. Branson’s son Sam Branson has been appealing on Instagram for help in finding Stewart, whom he described as a dear friend. His dad’s official Twitter account retweeted one of those posts.

Stewart, who also partly grew up in Florida at his family’s Sanibel Island property, is an experienced diver, his dad said.

Details about what led up to Stewart’s disappearance were still not fully known.

Woodall said that according to the report provided to the Coast Guard by the crew of the Pisces, the vessel Stewart had been diving from, Stewart had resurfaced from the water with another diver. While the Pisces crew was turning around to pick up Stewart, he vanished.

Environmental activist Paul Watson, who has known Stewart for at least 18 years and worked with him on “Sharkwater,” said the other diver passed out and the assumption was that Stewart also might’ve passed out, and that if he did, he might’ve sank below the surface.

Watson, who lives in Vermont, is the founder and CEO of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a marine advocacy organization, and also a co-founder of Greenpeace, a group he left in 1977. He acknowledged in a phone interview that the signs are not encouraging.

“It doesn’t look good,” Watson said.

Stewart