Pool 2 – Probable Drowning.

From http://www.startribune.com

Last update: November 23, 2004 at 6:49 AM
Diver still missing in river near St. Paul park
Bill Mcauliffe and Kevin Duchschere, Star Tribune
November 23, 2004 DROWN1123

The morning was chilly enough for ice to skim the standing water in St. Paul’s Hidden Falls Park on Sunday. But as Nic Harter hefted on his scuba gear and waded into the Mississippi River with four other divers, there is a good chance he was thinking about the warm waters of Greece, where he was planning to dive in January.

Today, the 21-year-old St. Olaf College junior is still missing after somehow becoming entangled in a submerged car — the target of a dive that has even other diving enthusiasts talking about the risks of diving in the river.

“He had a passion for water — especially being underwater,” said his father, Brian Harter, who with his wife, Sandy, was watching Monday as a team of Ramsey County Sheriff’s deputies probed the river, searching for their son.

The search, which continued after dark Monday with recovery workers using a sonar device, was expected to resume today. Also today, a daily prayer service at St. Olaf was to be devoted to Nic Harter and the rescue workers.

The Harters said their son, a Hopkins High School graduate and English and Ancient Studies major who had also published his own book of poetry, had begun taking scuba diving as part of a physical education class this fall. When that ended, he pursued a more advanced certification through an independent scuba instruction program in Northfield, Minn. The man believed to be the instructor declined to comment by phone Monday.

Diving adventure

On Sunday, Harter and another student, the instructor and two fire-and-rescue workers from Randolph, Minn., entered the river holding a rope to help them find the submerged car. The plan was to drift downstream in a line perpendicular to the current, hook the car and pull themselves toward it. But when the diver behind Harter moved up the rope, he found Harter already unconscious, according to Eric Cole, a St. Olaf professor and veteran diver who had dived with Harter in a lake near Northfield last week. Cole had also planned to make Sunday’s dive, but didn’t, because of a sore elbow. He was called to the scene Sunday and talked with the divers and rescue workers.

Dangerous conditions

Ramsey County Lt. Ron Petrusson said the current and the river’s murky conditions were too dangerous for the county’s own divers to aid in the search Sunday and Monday, although he said a diver with special equipment may get involved today. And staffers at a dozen Twin Cities scuba shops said Monday that they regard the metro Mississippi as off-limits for recreational diving because of the current and low visibility.

Josh Dexter, manager of Smith Diving in Minneapolis, said his company uses the Mississippi River near the Grain Belt Brewery, where it is wider and not as fast-moving, for divers trying to qualify for “master” certification. Such divers usually have made 75 or more dives over three or four years, and the certification dives involve a spotter in a boat, Dexter said.

But Cole, the St. Olaf professor who said he has dived more than 300 times, including once in the Mississippi, said the spot near Hidden Falls didn’t appear too risky to him when he arrived Sunday.

“It didn’t look to me like anything I wouldn’t have jumped into myself,” he said, noting a strong current but a sand-gravel bottom and a gentle slope. Cole said he thought the group’s dive plan was simple.

“It’s hard to see this portrayed as an irresponsible dive,” he said. “It was a challenging dive. Maybe more challenging than they’d thought, because it had rained the night before. I saw it out there, and I thought, ‘Yeah, you could do this dive.’ But you don’t know what you’re going to encounter. In my view, this was a freak accident.”

Love of diving

The Harters said their son Nic dove last month on the Madeira, a shipwreck in Lake Superior near Split Rock Lighthouse. The remains of the Madeira are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Although the wreck attracts more than 1,000 divers a year, Cole said he believes it is a more challenging dive than the area near Hidden Falls.

The Harters shrugged when asked if they knew what their son’s long-term goals might have been.

“He was just a sweet soul and a very giving person,” Sandy Harter said. “He was a very special kid. I know everybody thinks their kid is special, but it’s true.”

Bill McAuliffe is at [email protected]

Anyone hear any updates on this? As of last sunday they where still looking for him. I think it was the monday before was when he disapeared. It was a sad sight to see on sunday with the boats working the river and what looked to be freinds or family standing at the end of the landing waiting.

The StarTrib posted an update on the story today….

Last update: December 2, 2004 at 6:50 AM
Search for diver missing in river is scaled back
December 2, 2004 DIVER1202

Ramsey County authorities are scaling back their efforts to find the body of a 21-year-old scuba diver presumed drowned in the Mississippi River.

Meanwhile, the family of Nic Harter has arranged for a memorial service at 2 p.m. Friday at Normandale Evangelical Lutheran Church, 6100 Normandale Rd., Edina. Another service, for students and faculty at St. Olaf College, where Harter was a junior, has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at Boe Memorial Chapel on the Northfield campus.

The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office will continue to have a boat on the river daily, said Lt. Ron Petrusson, who is coordinating the search. Search efforts, which are focused on the area of the river just downstream from St. Paul’s Hidden Falls Park, will continue until weather and water conditions make them impossible, Petrusson said.

“It’s a very difficult set of circumstances,” Petrusson said, citing the river currents, debris of all sizes on the bottom and low visibility.

Searchers from Washington and Dakota counties, the state Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Coast Guard, and the State Patrol helped in the effort over the weekend without success. In addition, Hennepin County has provided a sonar device for searching underwater.

Harter, who had begun scuba diving in recent months, was diving Nov. 21 with four others who were trying to locate and explore a submerged car. Harter apparently became tangled in the car and was not breathing when one of his fellow divers got to him. His body was not found in the car, which was removed from the river over the weekend.

Bill McAuliffe

Bumping this to the top. All of us pool 2 guys need to keep an eye out for this kid.

I pray someone finds him, just not one of us. One thing about P2 that always scared me, you just never know what’s in the water down there.

I’m afraid he probably won’t be found until the water warms up enough and his body becomes bouyant. That might not be until April or May. I feel for his family and friends.

I wear my life jacket and attach the kill switch in the cold water boating season. Even with my life jacket on, I would not last long in the cold water but I figure at least they could find my body.

Boone

Good advice Boone!
I hope to see you on Pool 3 as soon as she warms up!
Tuck

Tuck,

Glad to see you’re doing well. I’ll be on Pool 3 early in the season but my wife and I are expecting our second child early in the summer. So after the baby arrives my fishing time will probably be pretty limited for a while.

When those two duck hunters from Hastings died on Pool 2 in the fall of 2003, it really made me think about cold water safety and what I could do to be safer. Like I told you, I was talking to one of those guys earlier that year down by Prescott and knew he was a real river rat. I figured if a bad accident could happen to him, it could happen to any of us.

Good Luck,

Boone

Body found:

Body of missing scuba diver found

KSTP) — Sunday morning, before 11 a.m., a fisherman found the body of the scuba diver who had been missing for more than three months.

St. Olaf College student Nic Harter was scuba diving with three friends on November 21st. The other divers came up, but Nic did not.

Nic’s parents tell 5 Eyewitness News that he loved poetry and water. In fact some of Nic’s own words, his poetry, now describe today.

“A joyous time with a sad end…an end we have feared my friend,” reads one of Nic’s poems.

Max Power was near the river when the fisherman saw Nic’s body. Soon, crews were on the scene.

“All the firemen went down and hooked the body out of the water,” Power said.

Deputies believe that more than three months ago, Nic got caught up on a submerged car in the river. Rescue crews searched for two weeks and found nothing. They hoped his body would submerge by spring, but already had plans to resume the search soon.

So when Nic’s body surfaced Sunday morning, his father, still grief stricken, was shocked. He says he knew the news was inevitable, but it was still hard to take.

Nic’s father shared another poem with us titled, “It is lost now.” The last few words of Nic’s poem are now helping his friends and family move on, “Leave the pain…move forward to live…and go on.”

Also, more info from the Star Tribune….

Body of lost diver found in river

Matt McKinney, Star Tribune

March 7, 2005 BODY0307

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A fisherman discovered the body of a scuba diver Sunday morning on the banks of the Mississippi River near downtown St. Paul more than three months after the man went missing, authorities said.

Nic Harter, 21, a junior at St. Olaf College in Northfield, was diving with friends on Nov. 21 when he somehow became entangled in a submerged car and lost consciousness, according to the last diver to see him. Harter then drifted off before his friends could pull him from the water.

“There is closure [now] from a physical sense,” said Brian Harter, Nic’s father. He and his wife, Sandy, said they expected that searchers would eventually find their son’s body.

“We needed that, and we believed it would happen.”

Harter’s family held a memorial service in December while the search for his body continued, his father said Sunday. No further public memorial services are planned.

A fisherman called 911 about 10 a.m. Sunday after spotting Harter’s body on the shore, said Lt. Ron Petrusson of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office.

“He was still in full dive gear,” Petrusson said.

Harter’s body was found near a defunct power plant about 3 miles downstream from his dive location at St. Paul’s Hidden Falls Park. Investigators are examining Harter’s dive equipment to check for any failures that may have led to his drowning, Petrusson said.

The search at one point included authorities from Washington and Dakota counties, the Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Coast Guard and the State Patrol.

Nic Harter dove in Lake Superior the month before he drowned, exploring the Madeira shipwreck near Split Rock Lighthouse.

Harter’s was the second body pulled from the river over the weekend. A man’s body was discovered on the riverbank by a jogger Friday near the intersection of Eagle St. and Shepard Rd. in St. Paul, Petrusson said. It’s not clear how long that body had been in the water.

Petrusson, who made frequent calls to the Harter family while searching for their son, said he called the family Sunday with the news that he had been found.

“We developed quite a relationship,” Petrusson said. “They’re good people. It was a sad, happy phone call all at the same time.”

Matt McKinney is at [email protected].

I am glad they can give some closure to the family.

Why do I feel like I am bound to find a body at some point out there? Also-submedged car by Hidden Falls? I wonder where that can be, the entire river is not more than 12′ up there right now and most of the season. You would thing you could see it or a barge would bang it if it was in the channel.

Dave,

They removed that car last fall while they were looking for the body. It was just downstream from the Hidden Falls access. Someone probably just put the car in nuetral and let it roll on in…..

-J.

In the Star Tribune article it made mention of a 2nd body found in St Paul on Friday. My wife was driving home on Shepard Rd, and said that she saw 7-8 squads and probably 10-12 officer looking over the railing into the water. Anyone have any details about this person?
Thanks,

This explains what we saw on Sunday at about noon. My daughter and I were headed up to Lilydale from the airport and noticed several police and fire persons standing around a white sheet on the bank of the river. This confirms what I assumed was the diver.

I cringe at even asking this question, but…….

Since it was a fisherman who found the body, do we know who the fisherman was, or was it anyone from the site???

Gary,

I was thinkin the same thing! I sure hope I never come across anything like that. Thankful they found the body for closure with the family, but I hope to dear God that I never have to experience that!

Glad to hear he was found. It was strange watching them search for him last fall and to drive by the family standing at the end of the hidden falls ramp while fishing up there. Not a good site.

Dave, your not alone. Hate the thought of pulling up a body part some day. Good thing is it most likely wont happen. I hope.

I thought that was you Francis, in that Alumacraft. We saw the whole thing also, and it wasn’t a pretty sight. The police and the county mounties were there with the fire dept. rescue engine. There was a hearse there also, scarry sight. We figured it was the diver that had been found. I am sure glad they did find him, for the families sake.

2 summers ago my brother and a couple of his friends drove up on a body on the St. Croix near the 94 bridge. The same thing also happened to my dad about 20 years ago on the Croix. Both were very shaken up after the event and it made me wonder if I will ever be in the same situation. Point is if you fish enough it can happen. Especially on rivers. JD

At the risk of sounding like your mother…Boone posted that he wears a PDF and uses the kill cord in the colder months.

I too use the kill cord anytime I go a distance…not always…but it is just hanging there…might as well clip it on.

Forget the colder months and wear a PDF all the time!

As someone posted a couple years ago, a water patrol fella said “I’ve never pulled a body out of the water with a pdf on”. My thought is…if you wake up in the morning and knew you were going to fall in…you would either stay in bed or wear a pdf. The new generation of pdf’s are so comfortable, you forget that you are wearing them. With the SOS style, there really isn’t a reason to wear one all the time. Kinda like seat belts 20 years ago…just need to get into the habit.

Although I don’t require everyone in my boat to wear a pdf (except at night…no pdf on…no go)I do encourage it. This is with the reasoning that if they fall in and hurt themselves, I’ll have to go in and get them…it’s much easier to pull someone to shore with a pdf on.

I have three fears (mostly) fishing the river.
1) American Eels
2) Finding a body
3) Realizing the body I found is one of my IDA freinds.

Not nessesaraly in that order.

Play it safe, wear your PDF while on the water.

Well said Brian!!! Several lessons in there, even for us young invincible guys.

Why you scared of eels??

Since you brought up life jackets what are some of the more comfortable life jackets out there? I purchased a large sterns a couple of years back but only wear it in the winter while moveing the boat from place to place. It is just to bulky to have on while trying to pitch wing dams.

Any thoughts on the inflatable life jackets. Ive seen a couple of you guys wearing them. The price tag on them seemed to be a high when they first came out. Has it gone down at all? Thinking about picking on of these up in the near future. They look to be alot more comfortable to wear while fishing.

Keep those kids in the life jackets while on the water and for sure on the river.

a buddy of mine from hudson found the guy, still had his mask and tanks on,, very freaky deal. i think if you put in alot of time on the river, st.croix or miss. you probably will bump into something like that sooner or later.

RST Rider uses the SOS style. They have come down a little. But Mike? What’s your life worth to your wonderful daughters?

Personally, I’m not so sure the inflateable Class V that works like a Class 3 is the silver bullet. But they have improved them since the first arrived on the market….and they are MUCH better than the PDF hanging on the back of your seat!

Kookski, not scared of eels! Just don’t like the cold at night….Since eels mostly bite at night…I think pulling one of them up to the boat in darkness would wet my clothes, until the line was cut…. which in turn would make me cold….I don’t like getting cold.

Quote:

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even for us young invincible guys

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PS… every year around graduation time, there’s parties on the islands around Hudson and North of Stillwater. Almost every year someone drownds or is rescued from drownding because for whatever reason a “young invincible guy” makes the bad decision to swim the channel to shore. They forget that there’s a good current there, panic as they are being pulled down stream and pay for it with there life.

I really hope we don’t have to lose any more “young invincible guys” because pdf’s aren’t cool or lack of judgement.

PDF’s aren’t for pussy’s anymore.

I hear what you are saying Brian. That thought about my kids has come to mind several times. This is most likely why new lifes vest are on my want list for this spring.

Does RST wear that vest in your boat also? Heck I just thought he put that on when he got a look at my boat. RST does set a good example.

Has anyone here every taken a dip in the winter time with all your gear on. You would think with out a life vest you would be heading straight to the bottom. One thing I have always done in the winter time is worn untied boots or ones that would kick right off. Figuring getting out of my Ice Kings would be the first step in trying to save my butt. After that it would be a big guess as to if a person could hold his breath long anough to get out of the jacket and pants. Not to even mention if the cold water has not gotten to you yet, or if you did get back in the boat or to the shore then what. If you think about it the deck realy seems to be stacked against a person if he takes a dip in the cold weather season.

A few other things I have done with regards to something like this happening are placeing matches or a lighter in a plastic baggie in a pocket. Cell phone in a baggie.

When I seem to think about this most is on some of those cold dark evenings in the winter time while pitching wing dams. If you did go in there is no one else out there to pull your butt out. Your on your own.

Didn’t mean to sound like a preacher Mike .

I’m not sure if you saw the video link on the board about Dr. Chill.

He went in on a snowmobil and thought he could swim the 150 yards back to good ice with his snowmobil suit on. By the time he was about half way he realized he couldn’t make it and was too tired to take it off by then…it just kept dragging him down until the rescue team said it’s time to get out…most of his head was under water by then. That was a thinsulate suit.
I doubt a pdf would help much here, but it’s still better than nothing!

Thanks….The Rev. Briank

Incidents like this just plain suck ! By that I mean it always bums me out to hear of an individual who has drowned while diving , fishing, whatever on our water ways.
A guy I used to know drowned this time of year on a local river here about 7 or so years ago. Cold water, too many beers and no life jacket = game over.

As for whether a PFD makes a difference in cold water or not IT DOES.
I used to run whitewater when I lived in Colorado. I had my own 10 man raft and we used to do a fair amount of trips each spring both on the bigger and smaller rivers there. The best time was the spring run off = VERY COLD water.
Anyhow , to make a long story short on one of our trips I got dumped out on a fairly small river. The day was sunny and warm and in fact so warm I was wearing a T shirt and shorts.
The first thing I felt when I got dumped was how damned cold the water was.It was so cold it took my breath away in an instant making it hard to breath. After being in the water for only a couple minutes my arms and legs began to stiffen up and I was slowly loosing control over them.
Now the water I was in was’nt even that deep. Most of it was in the 5 foot range I’d say but due to the current speed AND cold there was no way I could stand up. Fortunately the current eventualy pushed me towards a gravel bar on the side of the river where I was able to get on my feet and out of the water.
By the time I got out my judgement was impared simular to having light beer buzz ,I could’nt stand up strait. I had about half the use of my legs and arms and you would have needed a crow bar to pry the paddle out of my hands becuse my hands had basicaly become usless from the cold. All that in less than 5 minutes. Were it not for my life jacket I’m not %100 sure I would have come out in such good shape as I did.

This was a small river and I do not believe I would have drowned or anything ? but the life jacket deffinately shortened the length of time I was in the water and aided me in getting out. It no doubt saved me some bumps and bruises.
Until this happened to me I was like most folks. It’s only water and I’m a very good swimmer , what could possibly go wrong ? Well I found out first hand how quickly things can get out of hand when you underestimate nature. A humbbling experience for sure.

So do yourself a favor when your out fishin or whatever especialy when the water is this cold. DEFFINATELY wear your PFDs.

Don’t quote me on this, but I think Mike Little fell in on Pool 4 about three years ago one day while fishing by himself. I don’t recall if it was spring or fall, but I do remember thinking he was dam lucky he was able to pull himself back into the boat.

I just got 4 of the inflatable PFD’s. They are the manual deploy type, but I figure if I can get comfortable wearing them, the better off I’ll be. I like your comment Briank, how much is my life worth. Not much to most, but one little girl thinks the world of me. If the life jacket cost $1000.00 and saves my life some day, it was a pretty good investment!

Its interisting to see the dollar amounts I spend on other fishing items and then bauck at $150 for a decent life jacket. That is what the inflatable jackets cost right?

I got mine for $5.00 at a sale from North American Game Inc. I would have bought them all had I known it was such a good deal. I think the version I got retails for $45.00 from cabelas. I’ll try to look at the model/type tonight and post a link when I get home.