Leader of a Cleveland underwater diving group found dead in Lake Erie

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The leader of a Cleveland-area underwater diving group known for exploring shipwrecks in the Great Lakes was found dead Saturday after being reported missing while diving in Lake Erie.

The Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office said the body of 70-year-old David VanZandt of Lakewood was recovered from the water near the East Ninth Street Pier in Cleveland. The U.S. Coast Guard said VanZandt was reported missing about six miles off the coast of Cleveland on Saturday.

The Coast Guard says divers involved in the search found VanZandt around 7:45 p.m.

VanZandt was co-founder, director and chief archaeologist of Cleveland Underwater Explorers Inc., the group’s website says. A social media post from the group said VanZandt was on the group’s first field trip of the year on Saturday, diving to a newly discovered shipwreck. The post said he did not return to the boat and “suffered a fatal diving accident.”

The website states that the group’s members are “dedicated to researching, locating, exploring and documenting the shipwrecks and sunken heritage of the Great Lakes, with a focus on Lake Erie.” The group has found and explored over a dozen shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. The wrecks VanZandt helped locate include the tanker Argo and the steamship Margaret Olwill.

According to VanZandt’s biography on the group’s website, he was a semi-retired senior engineer at ZIN Technologies Inc. He specialized in space hardware for NASA’s Glenn Research Center and worked on the Space Shuttle, International Space Station, and sounding rockets, among others.

ADDITIONAL CONTENT: Body reportedly recovered from Lake Erie near Edgewater Park in Cleveland