Sandy Island Boat Found - WPDE Video

A diver from Beaufort has apparently found what the Department of Natural Resources could not. He discovered the boat that sank last month off Sandy Island, killing three people.

The boat was beneath 28 feet of murky water in the Waccamaw River, about 30 yards off shore from Sandy Island, the 15-foot boat that caused so much tragedy last month.

Robert Gecy calls himself a semi-professional diver, usually searching for treasure in ancient ships that have been under water for centuries.

Now, he had a very different task, trying to locate the boat that went down one month ago, claiming three lives.

Gecy and his crew thought they spotted the boat Wednesday morning, using his side-scan sonar unit but he needed to be sure.

So he went back to the spot later in the afternoon and dived down to see in person.

His first search, in water where he could see barely a foot in front of him, yielded only an old but valuable liquor bottle.

With his second dive - success.

He spotted the boat and a quick check of the hull number seemed to confirm it.

Gecy says he decided to do the search on his own because he has the time, expertise, and equipment that the D.N.R. does not.

"It's definitely something you want to bring some closure to, and at least find out what happened and maybe prevent it in the future and certainly avoid accidents like this from now on," said Gecy.

Gecy took note of the coordinates for that spot.

He'll turn that information over to the D.N.R. and let them do the investigation into why the boat went down.

The D.N.R. tried to locate the sunken boat in the days following the accident, but they couldn't find it.

Gecy, with his expertise and sonar unit spotted it in only about a half hour.

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