Dive Team

The goal of the Monroe County Dive Team is to rapidly respond to any water-related operation and to safely effect any type of waterborne recovery, rescue operation or criminal investigation. The Team responds to calls in all areas of Monroe County including the waters surrounding the cities of Key West, Marathon, Key Colony Beach, and The Village of Islamorada.

The Dive Team assists many other agencies in addition to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office, including the Florida Marine Patrol, United States Coast Guard, Customs, Key West Police, and Key Colony Beach Police. The 15 members of the team are deputy sheriff’s who volunteer for the duty, in addition to their regularly assigned duties, without extra compensation.

The standards for the Team are high and require extensive training provided by the Sheriff's Office. The Dive Team performs much of it's training at the Florida Keys Community College Aquatic Training Facility updating skills and learning new skills in the field of Underwater Investigations.

Duties of the team include:

Body recoveries
Recovery of vehicles in the water Vessel hull searches
Underwater searches for evidence

Examples of dive team participation in investigations and training:

Body recovery of a man near No Name Bridge
Search for a body in a homicide at Rockland Key
100 ft Nitrox training dive in the “Bush Wreck “off Looe Key
Body entangle in a propeller off Rebecca Shoals
Recovery of stolen 15 hp Johnson outboard in Key West
Participated in Reef cleanup off Key Largo
Search for the weapon in a 1989 Key Largo shooting
Testing of dive gear and a recreation of a homicide case
Car accident into the ocean at Garrison Bight Key West
Check for bodies in a vehicle in canal from Hurricane George
Recovery of stolen motorcycle in Grassy Key
Recovery of stolen newspaper boxes in Grassy Key
Checking identification of a burning boat wreck in Key Largo
Recovery of two golf carts in Key Largo