By Laurel L. Scott and Jennifer Rios
The San Angelo Standard-Times
SAN ANGELO, Texas — The body of Richard Stovall, a Midland scuba diver, was found in O.H. Ivie Reservoir at 10:59 a.m. Friday and recovered at 1:11 that afternoon, Concho County Sheri ‘s Lt. Brent Frazier said.
“We went from search and rescue to recovery this morning,” Frazier said Friday afternoon.
The 77-year-old Stovall, owner of Stovall’s Scuba & Travel in Midland, had failed to return Wednesday from a dive to collect underwater soil samples from the lake bed.
Stovall entered the water through a concrete tower pumping station and was working in approximately 40 feet of water, Frazier said Thursday. He was expected to be in the water 10 minutes, and his co-workers became alarmed when he didn’t return after 30 minutes.
A local dive team with members from Concho County and the San Angelo Police Department searched until about 9 p.m. Wednesday, when it became unsafe to continue, Frazier said.
A six-member specialty dive team dispatched out of Houston on Thursday found the diver’s body Friday in a chamber at the end of a 350-foot pipe and directly below a Colorado River Municipal Water District pump station.
Frazier had held out hope Thursday that Stovall could be found alive, explaining that he may have become trapped in the piping system of the pumping tower and might have found air pockets in the pipes.
Frazier said Friday it was not likely Stovall would be in the chamber at the end of the 8-foot diameter pipe for the work he was doing.
According to his business website, Stovall was a master instructor for scuba diving, in business since 1954 and certified by the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. He offered courses ranging from introductory to search and rescue diving and equipment specialist. He also organized dive trips and was planning to lead a trip in June to Anthony’s Key Resort in Honduras.
The body was sent to the Lubbock County Medical Examiner for autopsy, Frazier said. A report on the cause of death could come as early as Monday or could take up to six or seven days, he said.
About 60 people were involved in the search for Stovall, Frazier said, including the Houstonbased dive team, which includes members from several states; the area dive team; the Concho County Sheriff ‘s Department; the Eden Volunteer Fire Department; Eden EMS; the Brady Fire Department; the Texas Department of Public Safety; Texas Parks & Wildlife; the Concho Valley Regional Advisory Council; and a Texas Ranger.
“We never thought in Central Texas we’d know as much about diving as we’ve now learned,” Frazier said.
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