Wreck diver succumbs after air supply fails

BOIS BLANC ISLAND - A second wreck-diving incident in the last several weeks on the Straits of Mackinac claimed the life of a St. Ignace diver Monday afternoon.

According to a report from the Cheboygan County Sheriff's Department, St. Ignace diver James Montcalm, 56, was diving on the sunken wreck of the vessel Newell-Eddy at 135 feet in waters off Bois Blanc Island when he apparently ran out of air. Other divers on the same wreck attempted to share their air supply with Montcalm but were, “... unable to complete the task.”

Montcalm's body was recovered by the other divers present around 3 p.m. after a number of rescue agencies were alerted. Recovered by the same dive vessel he and the group used to reach the wreck scene, Montcalm was taken to the Cheboygan County Dock in nearby Cheboygan. He was later pronounced dead at Cheboygan Memorial Hospital.

Units from the Cheboygan Life Saving Service, Mackinac County Sheriff's Department and St. Ignace Station of the U.S. Coast Guard responded to the rescue attempt.

Montcalm was the second diver to succumb in separate wreck diving incidents in the often turbulent Straits of Mackinac in recent weeks. In early August another wreck diver died, apparently of natural causes while investigating the wreck of the M/V Cedarville in another portion of the Straits.

Dodson Funeral Home of St. Ignace is assisting Montcalm's family with funeral arrangements.