The Scuba Ranch, a dive facility in Kaufman County, has imposed a 'permanent suspension' on instructor Bill Armstrong following the drowning death of 12-year-old Dylan Harrison during a scuba certification class. This information comes via FOX 4 News. The suspension also extends to Scuba Toys, the company conducting the training, pending investigation results. The facility clarified that while it does not employ or oversee instructors, they are required to adhere to established scuba safety standards.
Complicating the search for answers in the wake of this tragedy is the handling of evidence, as detailed in a report by Divernet dive-computers, key to reconstructing the dive's events, were not collected initially by investigators, and one belonging to a dive professional has since been reported missing, six weeks after Dylan's death, the investigation seems to not have analyzed the available data from the computers, Dylan had been participating in a class aimed at earning her open-water certification when she went missing, only for her body to be later discovered away from the designated platform at a depth her presence and future in the waters were destined to be bound by bonds of familial love, as with her father and grandfather, the activity would echo through generations, yet silence befell this young dreamer not among the bubbles and blue but within the somber depths.
The instructor at the center of the case, William Armstrong, who also serves as an assistant chief deputy with the Collin County sheriff's office, was noted to be 'bone dry' as the search for Harrison commenced. The attorney for the Harrison family, David Concannon—who is offering his services pro bono—has voiced frustration with the investigation's progress, emphasizing the importance of the dive computers' data. "This is the first case I've had, out of almost 300, where answers have not been forthcoming, and evidence was not gathered at the scene or shortly thereafter, by the people who know what to do," Concannon told Divernet.
