Officials searching for a missing diver in Florida recover another body instead

The search for a missing diver in southeast Florida took a surprise turn this week when officials reported they recovered another person's body during the underwater probe.

According to the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office, Virgil Price, 39, vanished on Sunday, but on Monday search teams found someone else's corpse.

On Wednesday, the sheriff's office said it was unaware of any other missing person reports matching the description of the male pulled from the water Monday about 16 miles Northeast of the Fort Pierce Inlet.

The area where the agency's Marine Unit assisted the U.S. Coast Guard recovering the unidentified body, is about 60 miles north of West Palm Beach.

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Description of body recovered from water near Fort Pierce Inlet

Officials were working to identify the victim, described as a white male weighing 200 to 225 pounds who appears to be older than age 50.

"His clothing and physical characteristics do not match those of the missing diver from Sunday," the agency posted on Facebook.

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Officials: Recovered body was likely not in water that long

The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the investigation, and they’re working with the medical examiner to determine cause and approximate time of death for the victim found on Monday.

The body does not appear to have been in the water for an extended period of time, according to the sheriff's office.

Diver reported missing over the weekend

On Monday evening, the U.S. Coast Guard officials suspended the search for Price, who was free diving Sunday about 13 miles southeast of the Fort Pierce Inlet before he disappeared, TCPalm, part of the USA TODAY Network reported.

Price failed to resurface while free diving the Halsey shipwreck, officials said.

Free diving, also called skin diving, relies on breath-holding until resurfacing.

Price is a "team member" at Florida Freedivers, a sporting goods store in North Palm Beach, according to a social media post by the store. He appears to be an instructor there.

"With a heavy heart, we must share that after 36 hours and covering 1400 miles, the Coast Guard has suspended their search for Virgil," the store posted on Facebook Tuesday night. "Our thoughts and prayers are with our brother and all those affected by this tragedy."

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.