Dive Team

The Lake County Sheriff's Office contains multiple specialized units. These units answer calls for service or respond to emergencies that would be impossible or impractical for regular Road Patrol Deputies to handle. The deputies that work in these units are "special" deputies. That is, they specialize in a particular area of the law enforcement scope of operation. This span of operation is dictated by the variety of calls for service received from the public. These special units absorb all calls for service, investigations or emergencies that cannot be handled by the other divisions.

The Underwater Search and Recovery Unit "Dive Team" is currently comprised of seventeen (17) certified SCUBA divers. Included in this group are numerous divers rated in specialty areas, consisting of, Dive Master, Master Diver, Paramedic / EMT, Law Enforcement Diver, NIXROX Diver, Night Diver, Rescue Diver, and Instruction Level Diver.

The Dive Team is complemented by a fully outfitted Dive Van, a four-wheel drive military surplus truck with outfitted Dive Trailer. This unit is equipped with generator and lighting for extended and night operations. The dive units watercraft inventory are a full size pontoon boat, several military surplus rubberized "ZODIAC" style boats, and a jet boat, recently acquired thru civil forfeiture, at no cost to the taxpayer.

Outfitted with dry suits, underwater communication and other assorted state of the art equipment, the Underwater Search and Recovery Units primary mission is searching for drowning victims due to swimming, boating, airplane, and car accidents. The Lake County Sheriff's Office has one of the highest rated public safety diving units in the State of Florida.

All dive team members are required to attend regular training sessions, and the majority of our divers are accredited police divers, by the National Academy of Police Diving.

Contact Information:
Bob Tracy - (DIVE TEAM LEADER)
Rich Winn - (EQUIPMENT SPECIALIST)
Phil Aldrich - (Lake Co Fire/Rescue)
Lindsey Carpenter
David Causey
Cameron Crews
Matt Donnelly
Sgt. Russ Edwards
Tom Goring
Steve Keller
Jason Matthews
Mark Meintzschel
Rob Parker
Sgt. Butch Perdue
Glen Waterman
Brian Weddle


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