Dangerous Pursuit: The Search for Missing Diver Near World War II-Era Shipwreck in Florida

On Sunday, officials announced the disappearance of a 39-year-old man named Virgil Price while free diving near a World War II-era shipwreck in Florida. The Coast Guard and the St. Lucia County Sheriff’s Office launched a search for Price after he failed to resurface from the area around the Halsey shipwreck, which is located approximately 13 miles southeast of Fort Pierce Inlet, about 130 miles north of Miami.

Virgil Price was identified as a team member of Florida Freedivers, a freediving and spearfishing educator based in West Palm Beach. The organization expressed their sadness in a Facebook post, describing Price as a family member and a dear friend to many. Last year, after a diver went missing off the coast of Key West, Coast Guard Capt. Jason Ingram acknowledged the dangers associated with diving as an activity.

The Halsey ship was built in 1920 and was en route from Texas to New York when it was struck by a torpedo and split in half. It caught fire and eventually sank to the bottom of the ocean, where it now sits in three pieces on a sand bottom 65 feet underwater, with the bow and stern upright and the midsection inverted.