Tragically, the US Coast Guard has confirmed that the body of “Sharkwater” Director Rob Stewart has been recovered.
RELATED: Profile: Rob Stewart
In a series of tweets on Friday evening, the Coast Guard’s southeast district confirmed Rob Stewart’s body was found:
Body of diver Mr Stewart reportedly found @ depth of 220 ft by ROV assist to Key Largo Vol Fire Dept.
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) February 4, 2017
DeeperBlue.com has spoken with the US Coast Guard’s public affairs office, who confirmed the sad news.
Coast Guard Captain Jeffrey Janszen, commander of the search and rescue operation, confirmed that a Key Largo Volunteer Fire Department dive team with an ROV found Stewart’s body just 300 feet from his last-known position near the deep-water dive on Queen of Nassau wreck off Islamorada.
Stewart’s sister Alexandra posted on Facebook expressing the families loss and asking for privacy at this time:
Rob has been found, peacefully in the ocean. There are no words. We are so deeply grateful to everyone who helped…
Posted by Alexandra Stewart on Friday, February 3, 2017
Stewart went missing after surfacing from a dive on Tuesday 31st January. An extensive search by USCG as well as private boats and aircraft covering over 6,000 square miles of ocean was conducted over three days since he went missing.
Stewart, 37, is best known for his 2006 documentary Sharkwater in which he examined and exposed the shark-hunting industries of the world and the effect upon the ocean ecosystem.