Body of missing Miami free diver found off Little Torch Key

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office found the body of a free diver who went missing Friday evening.

Pedro Fernandez, 37, was found near the Adolphus Busch wreck off Little Torch Key in the Lower Keys on Saturday morning, the sheriff's office said in a release.

Fernandez, a Miami native, was reported missing Friday at 6 p.m. Coast Guard Sector Key West issued an urgent marine information broadcast requesting mariners to be on the lookout.

The Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Coast Guard led the overnight search for Fernandez, who was last seen wearing a camouflage wetsuit and a yellow belt. As an MH-65 helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Miami flew overhead, a small-boat crew searched on water from the Station Key.

Details about what went wrong during Friday’s dive are still unclear. Fernandez’s body was found close to where he and friends first started the underwater excursion. (Free diving is diving into the ocean with no air tanks.)

“[Fernandez’s] body was found in about 71 feet of water at 10:30 this morning not far from the wreck,” police said. “It will be turned over to the medical examiner for an autopsy.”

KeysInfoNet contributed to this report.

This story was originally published August 1, 2015 at 9:49 PM with the headline "Body of missing Miami free diver found off Little Torch Key."