A Tennessee man has died following a diving incident during a charter trip off the coast of Venice, Florida.
Guy Charles Kerby, 60, of Goodlettsville, Tennessee, was participating in a recreational dive in the Gulf of Mexico on 17 June when an emergency unfolded during the excursion.
According to local reporting and accounts circulated within the Venice diving community, Kerby surfaced from the dive and deployed a surface marker buoy before appearing to signal for assistance. Fellow divers and crew members reportedly responded and brought him aboard the charter vessel, where emergency aid was administered.
Despite rescue efforts, Kerby later died. His death was confirmed on 19 June.
No official cause of death has been publicly released, and it remains unclear what led to the emergency.
The incident was first reported by local media in Venice and later discussed within the regional diving community, where additional details emerged regarding the response aboard the vessel. Community accounts indicate that Kerby was observed on the surface before becoming unresponsive, prompting an immediate rescue effort by those on board.
Venice is one of Florida’s most popular Gulf Coast diving destinations, attracting divers from across the United States to explore offshore reefs, wrecks and the area’s renowned prehistoric shark tooth sites.
An obituary published following Kerby’s death described him as a devoted husband, father of five and grandfather. Originally from Lexington, Kentucky, he was an active member of his church community and had made his home in Tennessee.
While many questions surrounding the incident remain unanswered, the tragedy has resonated throughout the diving community, where fatalities involving divers who successfully return to the surface before experiencing distress are often closely examined in the hope of identifying lessons that may help prevent future accidents.
At the time of writing, no further information regarding Kerby’s dive profile, equipment, experience level or medical condition has been released publicly.
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