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Lawrenceville man dies while diving off Florida Keys

The 46-year-old Spiegel Grove begins to sink off Key Largo, Fla., on May 17, 2002, after accidentally taking on more water while crews were preparing to scuttle her to create the world’s largest artificial reef. A Lawrenceville man died Monday while diving in the area. (AP file photo)
The 46-year-old Spiegel Grove begins to sink off Key Largo, Fla., on May 17, 2002, after accidentally taking on more water while crews were preparing to scuttle her to create the world’s largest artificial reef. A Lawrenceville man died Monday while diving in the area. (AP file photo)
By
May 8, 2017

A Gwinnett County man died Monday morning while on a diving trip off the Florida Keys, according to police.

James Ringold, 52, was on a trip with his wife when other divers located him around 10:15 a.m. in about 50 feet of water, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office in the Keys. Ringold, who was on the commercial dive vessel Rainbow Reef, was unresponsive when he was found with his regulator out of his mouth in the Spiegel Grove area.

Ringold was brought onto the boat, where CPR was performed as he was brought to shore, according to investigators. Paramedics met the vessel and took Ringold to Mariner’s Hospital, where the Lawrenceville man was pronounced dead at 11:41 a.m.

An autopsy is scheduled to determine a cause of death.

The Spiegel Grove is a 510-foot-long former U.S. Navy ship intentionally sunk in 2002 as a dive site in around 80 feet of water, the Florida Keys News reported. It is located about six miles off the Key Largo coast.

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Alexis Stevens is a member of the Crime and Public Safety team.

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