Phuket officials prepare to call off search for missing US diver

PHUKET: Officials leading the search for missing US diver Joshua Michael Devine are preparing to call off their efforts if they fail to find any clues by end of day, Sunday.

Mr Devine went missing from the Chontara 1, a Similans-bound liveaboard, on April 11. He was travelling with his wife, Ms Thadsana, and 22 other divers (story here).

Officers ended their search at 3pm today – Day 7 of the search – after failing to find any signs of Mr Devine, a 36-year-old civilian IT operative working at a United States’ military base in Kuwait.

“If we find nothing by the end of Sunday, we will call off the search,” Phuket Marine Police chief Panya Chaichana told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon.

The Royal Thai Navy are assisting the search from the air, he added.

“We have heard nothing from the other search teams,” Lt Col Panya said. “We have asked all boats passing through and all local authorities along the coast in the search area to keep an eye out and to immediately report anything that might help us.”

Mr Devine’s mother is expected to arrive in Phuket tomorrow, Col Panya added.

“We do not know what time she will arrive. We may wait for her to join the search,” he said.

Justin Walls, Vice Consul of American Embassy in Bangkok, visited Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong yesterday to discuss the search.

“He was thankful for our efforts and we assured him that we are doing our best,” Col Panya said.

— Chutharat Plerin