Bradford & District | Archive | 2003 | July | 29
From the Telegraph & Argus, first published Tuesday 29th Jul 2003.
The family of a Bradford diver who went missing off the coast of Anglesey could have to wait for months to find out if an inquest will be held.
Father-of-two Richard Hart-ley, 43, failed to resurface after an exploratory dive around a shipwreck off the coast of Anglesey on July 17.
He had been diving with his brother Graham and five others from the Bradford British Sub Aqua Club.
A search covering 400 square miles of coast and sea was called off the following day because he was not expected to survive longer than eight hours in the water.
But no body has been found since Mr Hartley's disappearance, so the coroner for North West Wales has to apply for jurisdiction in the case to the Home Secretary.
Coroner Dewi Pritchard-Jones, based in Caernarfon, said: "I have not got jurisdiction on this case because there is not a body and my district terminates on the low-water mark.
"We are putting together a file of evidence showing there is a strong likelihood that there is a body.
"Then I will apply to the Home Secretary for an order conferring jurisdiction on me to make further inquiries and hold an inquest.
"It is up to the Home Office to decide.
"But cases where there is no body are quite rare."
If an inquest cannot take place, no death certificate can be issued for Mr Hartley until he has been missing for a period of seven years.
Without a death certificate, his family cannot receive any life assurance payout and cannot settle his estate.
The British Sub Aqua Club, based in Ellesmere Port, will look into the incident for its annual report in November.
On average, 17 British divers die each year from a total of two million dives.
John Womack, trustee of the Bradford club, said: "During the 30 years that I have been a member, we have lost four divers.
"People are still diving in that area to look for Richard, but the tidal streams there could take him anywhere from the Isle of Man to Bangor
© Newsquest Media Group 2008