Private Search Continues for Southwest Florida Lost Diver

Southwest Florida’s coastal community continues the privately funded search for missing diver Drake Sweet. He was last seen 70 miles off the coast of Naples on Thursday afternoon, March 13.

“I am hyper-focused on our recovery efforts right now,” said Sweet family friend Corina Froese, a resident of Clearwater. “Our weather window is reopening and so this demands my full attention to get it right,” Froese said on Tuesday afternoon.

Private search plans include a boat equipped with a Yellowfin side scanner deploying Wednesday morning toward the wreck where Sweet was free diving to scan a 1.5-mile radius of the area, said Froese. 

“This technology has us cautiously optimistic as it is extremely effective in some cases at finding things as small as a GoPro or fins, or possibly even Drake,” she said.

Though the U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search on Saturday morning, March 15, private searches continue with a GoFundMe established by friends of the family, led by Froese, with a mounting donation total of $111,610 as of Tuesday afternoon. 

Sweet, a resident of Clearwater, has friends throughout the coast as a frequent diver from Tampa to Key West and in between. Sweet, 36, and his older sister Sofia, 38, are also known for their work together in years prior as musicians and small business owners. Parents Drew and Kate Sweet are behind continued search efforts, while friends handle public information. 

“The Sweet family are taking things minute by minute right now and remain tightly focused on efforts to recover their son and bring him home,” said Kelli Finn, a friend of the family and resident of Clearwater.

Drake went missing while freediving the Pentrel Wreck, which is approximately 63 miles offshore from Venice, said Finn. 

Sweet was with another friend, who was not named by the U.S. Coast Guard, aboard a 21-foot boat named Soggy Foot on Thursday. The friend activated distress signals around 5:00 PM Thursday and was soon safe on shore, the Coast Guard reported. 

An extensive search effort was then launched by the Coast Guard, searching approximately 4,275 square miles through Saturday, and has since been continued in the private sector, funded by the outpouring of GoFundMe donations. 

“Drake [Sweet] is an avid spear fisherman, lover of the ocean and, above all, a beloved son, brother, and true friend. We are committed to doing everything we can to bring him home,” said Finn.

Sweet is a photographer for Bison Films with his professional underwater photography and marine life photographs posted on his Instagram page.

Due to weather conditions, private water searches were also paused over the weekend following Sweet’s disappearance, but professional, private search teams continued using drones, helicopters and planes since he went missing, Finn said. 

Sweet was wearing a gray camouflaged wetsuit, blue dive fins and a black weight belt. His weight belt and speargun were found on the bottom, according to the Coast Guard. 

Sweet may have released them when experiencing some sign of trouble. 

Into the week following his disappearance, water searches resumed and are planned at least until Friday.

“Anyone out on the water in this area is urged to keep an eye out for Drake and report findings to the Coast Guard or local law enforcement,” said Finn.

Continued contributions also fund the expense of searches. According to the GoFundMe page, all funds raised go directly to the Sweet family, and they are distributing and directing funds to cover fuel costs, aerial search support via planes, helicopters, and boat-launched drones, as well as chartered boats, the use of sonar technology, expert-led search and rescue dives, along with many other necessary resources.”

Sharing on social media has been helpful in continuing the searches and gathering information, friends have said.

“The Sweet family has been overwhelmed by the love and support received from Drake’s friends, the freediving, fishing, and boating communities. Every share, donation, and effort to spread awareness helps bring us closer to finding Drake,” said Finn.