Missing swimmers, weapons, iPhones: Lexington County dive team is always ready to jump in the water
LEXINGTON, S.C. (WIS) - The Lexington Sheriff’s Department Dive Team has been responsible for scuba diving in murky waters in search of anything, or anyone, who is missing.
The team has been fully operational since 1985 and their searches have ranged from missing people to weapons in homicide investigations.
The dive team undergoes more than 150 hours of training each year. The team of 12 trains 6 hours every other week, and receives as many as 12 calls a year.
What is the process and how does it work?
Well, it starts with a call, letting the team know its time to get in the water. But before that, the team performs a risk analysis to make sure the water, and surrounding area, is safe.
Then, a search line is used. It systematically covers the bottom of the water so they can effectively find an object or body.
A team member will then put on a wet or dry suit, then jump in the water.
“We have a lot of calls here in Lake Murray for missing persons,” said Sgt. Jeff Weed, dive team coordinator for the county sheriff’s department. “We do cover all of the waterways within the county. It can be a creek, it can be a pond it can be contaminated areas too.”
Weed heads up the dive team. He said technology continues to advance, which helps reduce search time. Something that used to take the team a week to do can be done within an hour.
The team uses sonar technology to scan for abnormalities under the water. Metal detectors are also used, especially for objects like cell phones, which are often needed for an investigation of serious crimes.
But getting a call about a drowned or missing person can be difficult.
Weed said bringing comfort to families is what keeps the team going.
“A lot of the reason we do this is recovery, especially with bodies, we have closure for family member,” he said. “A lot of the time, the family members are on the shore watching and everything, and when we can get that closure, it means a lot to every team member.”
The dive team has a 100% success rate on body and vehicle recoveries.
81-year-old Jim Hickman has been a member of the dive team since it was first created in the 80s.
WIS Reporter Naomi Popa went through a mock training with the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department Dive Team. Hickman and Popa went underwater to retrieve a gun placed 10 feet deep.
In this case, the team found the missing object, but it was nothing compared to the hours-long searches the team undergoes during a normal case.
Weed said there are ways to prevent you or your loved ones from being their next search.
“I’ve been diving over 30 years with the sheriffs department, and I’ve never had to recover anyone with a lifejacket,” he said.
Looking back on over 35 years of diving, Hickman said the memories overflow. He showed WIS Reporter Naomi Popa a multitude of photos from successful finds and solved mysteries to fantastic photo ops.
The Lexington County Sheriff’s Department’s Dive Team is the most successful here in the Midlands, with more than 70% of their retrieval in Lake Murray.
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