Family, friends and curious neighbors stood on the bank of the Withlacoochee River watching the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Underwater Recovery Team spend hours looking for Ray Morand, who had fallen out of a small fishing boat. The team picked-up the search this morning (Oct. 2, 2009) at 7 a.m. and it was just about 2 p.m., today, when Morand’s body was discovered in murky waters where the Withlacoochee and Rainbow River come together. The area is called City Beach in Dunnellon.

The team has 10 scuba divers, but on this day, the search included 3 divers who searched waters 10-20 feet deep near the area where witnesses say Morand fell and never surfaced.

Captain Fred Vyse is the commander of the team. We are “specially trained to conduct operations under the poorest of conditions. This would include limited to no visibility, cold water environment and hazardous materials,” Vyse said. The team is trained to work plane crashes or other toxic substances in the water. Unlike pleasure divers, these divers operate in fully encapsulated drysuits to protect them from potential contaminants.

At this hour, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is the lead investigative agency. Witnesses say three men were fishing on the river. At one point, they were not getting any bites, so, they decided to pull anchor. Three men stood, the 10-12 foot boat started taking on water and two men fell into the water. One man was able to recover and get into the boat. For details from the investigation, contact Joy Hill of the FWC at (352) 258-3426.