A BRITISH-BORN scuba diver who went missing while retrieving a submerged vehicle in Ontario, Canada, has been found dead.
Gary Smith, 67, failed to resurface during the operation, sparking a desperate search by emergency crews.
The diver was reported missing after he did not come back up at around 11.30am while working beneath the water.
Police, firefighters and the Ontario Provincial Police underwater search and recovery unit launched a major effort to find him.
Divers discovered Smith’s body the following morning.
The 67-year-old had been attempting to attach cables to a vehicle that had ended up in a boat channel last November.
The people inside the car managed to escape at the time.
But the vehicle had remained underwater after the channel froze over during winter, delaying its recovery.
Smith, who lived in the nearby town of Chatham, had been working to help pull the vehicle from the water.
Chatham-Kent Police Service said difficult conditions in the channel meant specialised equipment and resources were needed during the search.
