Body of diver found in Lake Erie ID'd as director of local shipwreck team

A 71-year-old man who went missing while diving on June 1 at Lake Erie has been identified.

Dave VanZandt, founder and director of the Cleveland Underwater Explorers (CLUE) died after suffering injuries from a fatal diving accident, the organization confirmed in a Facebook post.

According to the post, VanZandt was on his first trip of the year while diving on a newly found shipwreck. His team contacted authorities when he didn’t return to their boat.

USA TODAY reached out to CLUE for comment but have not heard back yet.

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USCG and additional crews search for the missing diver

A little after 4:00 p.m. on June 1 the United States Coast Guard (USCG) Great Lakes wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the guardsmen and local crews were dispatched to the area to locate a recreational diver who went missing. The search perimeter was located about six miles from Cleveland.

Less than a hour later, additional crews from the USCG station Cleveland Harbor, Air Station Detroit, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Erie Dive Team arrived at the scene to assist with the search.

Around 7:45 p.m. divers from Lake County recovered a body from the lake. The body was confirmed to be the missing man that the crews had been searching for.

Who is Dave VanZandt?

VanZandt, a resident of Lakewood, a Cleveland suburb, was the director and chief archaeologist at CLUE, the organization’s website said.

Beginning his extracurricular career as a diver in 1995, VanZandt began his shipwreck excursions on his boat called the ”Sea Dragon” in 2001. That same year he founded CLUE, the organization said.

Although VanZandt participated in many adventures at sea he also had a love for creating objects to venture to outer space. As a semi-retired senior principal engineer for ZIN Technologies, Inc. VanZandt had 40 years of experience specializing in space flight hardware for NASA’s Glenn Research Center. He spent his career designing, building, testing, operating fluids, sounding rockets and combustion experiments on the Space Shuttle, the organization said.

According to an obituary post created by McGreevey Funeral Homes, VanZandt was also a U.S. Veteran.

Condolences pour in for the VanZandt family

In CLUE’s Facebook post, many people who knew VanZandt remember his life and legacy.

“I am so sad to hear about the loss of Dave,” Jim Kennard wrote in the comments. “He was a friend, shipwreck peer, explorer, and a very talented and wonderful person to know.”

Another commenter remembered VanZandt’s informative abilities, especially when it came to Lake Erie.

“Extending my deepest condolences to Dave’s family and friends,” Papes Jack wrote. “I offer both heartfelt thanks and admiration for his significant contributions towards expanding our body of knowledge of Lake Erie shipwrecks. Rest in Peace, Dave.”

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at [email protected]. Follow her on Instagram, Threads and