Canadian crew gives up search for missing W. Richland man

A Royal Canadian Mounted Police crew has given up searching after two days for a West Richland underwater diver and photographer, according to information from a dive club.

Ken Gatherum was diving Sunday at Mizuno Point in Nootka Sound off British Columbia, photographing the region’s gorgonian corals, when he never surfaced, according to the Marker Buoy Dive Club.

“It is assumed that his body has been pushed into deeper waters,” said Mark Wilson, club president, in an email.

The Seattle-based dive club is planning a tribute to Gatherum in its monthly publication, and Wilson planned to check with Gatherum’s sister about any services in his honor, he wrote.

Gatherum’s death marked the first time Marker Buoy lost a club member while diving, Wilson said.

Gatherum was a former U.S. Navy photographer who dove recreationally and professionally, taking photos for Battelle’s marine research lab in Sequim.

After retiring from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in 2012, he picked up the hobby again.

This story was originally published September 24, 2015 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Canadian crew gives up search for missing W. Richland man."