A 39-year-old diver named Virgil Price vanished in the Atlantic after a freediving excursion near a World War II-era shipwreck turned dire off Florida's coast, said authorities. The West Palm Beach local was reported missing by the Coast Guard and St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office on Sunday when he did not resurface from the depths surrounding the storied Halsey wreck, around 13 miles southeast of Fort Pierce Inlet.
After departing on his aquatic journey from familiar shores, the diver was last spotted sporting a green wetsuit that bore an orange stripe, adorned furthermore with yellow weights and black carbon fiber fins, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office reported. Diving, as described by Coast Guard Capt. Jason Ingram last year and quoted in CBS News, is "an inherently dangerous activity," a reality grimly underscored by current events and past tragedies alike.
Florida Freedivers, identifying Price as a colleague and friend, shared their distress over the incident, stating on Facebook, "This is an incredibly difficult time, as Virgil was family to us and a dear friend to so many." The community of divers and spearfishers have been left in profound unease, grappling with the loss of one of their own—a reminder of the ocean's unforgiving nature.
The ill-fated Halsey, a cargo carrier that met its end in the clutches of a torpedo explosion in the 1940s, lies in pieces beneath the waves, as documented by WPTV. Its bow and stern rest as silent sentinels, upright on the sandy seabed, while the midsection lies inverted—a stark testament to the war's lasting footprints. In the search effort, the U.S. Coast Guard joined hands with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the sheriff's office as they scoured the ocean.
The incident has cast a somber shadow over both the freediving community and the souls eternally anchored to the site of the Halsey's eternal watery grave. Until Price is found, or the search yields answers, the sea holds its secrets close, with the fate of Virgil Price suspended in its murky depths.
