Scuba expert who witnessed NTX 12-year-old's death questions ongoing investigation
Scuba expert questions investigation for death of child
The witness, who own another North Texas scuba facility, has tried to share his concerns about the drowning with the agency who's handling the investigation. He says they've avoided hearing his story.
ROCKWALL, Texas - A scuba instructor who was at the scene in Rockwall when a 12-year-old girl died during a diving class is sharing new details about the investigation.
He said in his interview with FOX 4 he hasn't been able to share the story of witnessing the girl's death with the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office.
When he reached out to them soon after Dylan Harrison's Aug. 16 death, the agency allegedly said their investigation was closed. They now say it's still an open criminal investigation.
North Texas scuba death
The backstory:
Dylan loved being in water. She was at the Scuba Ranch in Terrell to get her diving certification this summer. She would have been the third generation of divers in her family.
The fatal incident happened nearly two months ago, and the girl's family still has little information about what happened.
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Crucial evidence 'lost' in scuba death investigation of North Texas 12-year-old, lawyer says
A Rockwall family is seeking answers and accountability after the death of their 12-year-old daughter during a scuba class, citing a failure by law enforcement to secure and analyze crucial evidence, including "lost" dive computer data.
Many of the answers the family is looking for could be found in the dive computers worn by Dylan, her instructor, and the dive master. But their attorney has found the Kaufman County Sheriff's office has still not retrieved or analyzed that data and one of the computers has since been "lost."
Expert witness from the scene
Richard Thomas
What's new:
Richard Thomas is the owner of International Scuba in Carrollton. He was out at the Scuba Ranch that morning to train a group of scuba instructors.
Thomas spoke with FOX 4 on Thursday to share his concerns about the investigation. First, he described what he witnessed as bystanders realized Dylan was in trouble.
‘No one was doing anything’
What they're saying:
"When we finally realized it was a girl in water lost from her class, all my instructors had gear already. I had them get in," Thomas said.
"I ran over to the other shop's pavilion."
"When I arrived, no one was doing anything. They were all standing shell-shocked."
Thomas then began trying to figure out where the instructor was.
Concerns about Dylan's instructor
"I asked, ‘Who is the instructor here? Is there a professional here?’ No one answered," Thomas said. "A lady walked down. I said, ‘Is there an instructor here?’ She said, ‘Yes, my husband.’ I said, ‘Where is he?’ She said, 'He's standing right in front of you.'"
Dylan's instructor, William Armstrong, is an assistant deputy chief with the Collin County Sheriff's Office.
"At that point, I asked, ‘What is going on? Where did you see her last? I have people in the water, help me out,'" Thomas said.
"He started telling me, 'I didn't do anything wrong.' I said, ‘Divers get separated frequently, it could have happened to me. Tell me where you saw her last so we can begin a search.’ It was very difficult to get information out of him," Thomas said.
Thomas also has concerns about how long Armstrong was out of the water before rescue attempts began for Dylan.
"He was bone dry. I went to the hospital with the family, and I was still wet running into the hospital, so I have questions about that," Thomas said.
Thomas says his diver managed to locate Harrison within only seven minutes of searching.
"Seven minutes is the time people are able to be brought back from a drowning, potentially," Thomas said.
His affidavit shows he found her in about 45 feet of water.
"We were not ready to respond to something like that. We were not at a fire station waiting to go to something like this. They responded heroically. We responded with information we had at the time, which was to try to save her," Thomas said.
Dive computer data
What's next:
Thomas says he's speaking out in hopes the Harrisons will be able to get justice for Dylan, their only child.
He's concerned to learn that an investigator with the Kaufman County Sheriff's Office said in an email to the family's attorney on Oct. 1 that he had been in contact with the dive master and dive instructor and "no data is to be recovered" from the dive computers.
Thomas says collecting that data is standard protocol, even when minor incidents with divers happen.
"It is unbelievable they have not gotten those computers and gotten the data off of them," Thomas said.
The Scuba Ranch statement
Further Update:
Statement from The Scuba Ranch:
"We are heartbroken by the recent tragic loss of a young life at our lake. Our deepest sympathy and prayers are with her family and friends, during this unimaginably difficult time.
The Scuba Ranch exists to provide a safe and accessible freshwater environment for qualified Dive Instructors to conduct their training. The Scuba Ranch does not employ Dive Instructors, and does not provide, direct, or supervise instruction received. All Dive Instructors are independent of The Scuba Ranch and not affiliated with us other than as a customer. We do require that all instructors using our facilities follow recognized scuba safety standards outlined by their credentialing agency, as well as professional judgement, to train students safely.
Immediately after this event occurred, out of an abundance of caution, we permanently suspended the instructor (Armstrong) from teaching at our facility. Scuba Toys was also suspended from training pending the results of this investigation. This step was taken solely to ensure that safety remains the top priority for divers while at The Scuba Ranch.
This tragedy has deeply affected the entire dive community, and we will continue to support those impacted as best we can. We, along with all of you, are awaiting the facts and details to be released with complete transparency so that we may learn from what happened.The Scuba Ranch has and continues to be fully cooperating with the ongoing investigation and remains committed to supporting all efforts to understand what happened. We pray this family receives the answers, justice, and closure they deserve, and that all of the dive community would be strengthened through what we learn from this tragedy."
The Source: Information in this article comes from a FOX 4 interview with a scuba instructor.