The following excerpt was taken from the Divernet website, “Mills death lawsuit settled - but will criminal case follow?”, dated February 17, 2023: A prominent US diving lawyer is pushing for the reopening of what he says was a botched criminal investigation into the death of 18-year-old diver Linnea Mills in a Montana mountain lake in November 2020. David G Concannon’s announcement follows the news that the civil lawsuit brought against a local dive-centre, its owners, an instructor and training agency PADI in connection with the fatality has now been settled by all parties out of court on undisclosed terms. “ … Because Gull Dive had not been licensed to operate commercially in Glacier National Park, the initial investigation was undertaken by park agents. Concannon said that they had done well to consult a wide range of diving specialists. However, the National Park Service’s Investigative Services Bureau (ISB) quickly took over the case, and according to Concannon it severed those links to experts, to the extent of failing to involve even the NPS’s own dive safety officer, normally charged with investigating diving fatalities, its dive-team or dive control board. “Among the evidence the ISB refused to look at or ignored were the dive-profiles of Debbie Snow and Linnea Mills, which showed that Snow was on the surface while Linnea was drowning,” Concannon told Divernet. He said that Snow had also removed critical evidence - Mills’ dive-computer and personal effects, including incomplete PADI forms - from the scene. The video of Mills’ death and evidence of whether Snow had been mentally impaired at the time were also ignored, he said, and PADI’s training standards had been reviewed only after the instructor had been interviewed, and by non-divers. Also withheld, according to the lawyer, was that non-diver Shannon Gentry had questioned the Gull team about Mills having to dive without the drysuit hose “and Linnea just shrugged her shoulders, saying: ‘If they say it’s all right, I guess I will be OK’.” Concannon pointed out contradictions in Snow’s statement to the ISB, including the claim that divers carried out pre-dive equipment checks even though she had not known how much weight Mills had or where it was located. And while the ISB had told the Mills family that it was unable to determine the effects of suit-squeeze because “nobody had ever studied it before”, Concannon says that he had referred the ISB to two investigations, one from 2012 and another ongoing by the Canadian Coast Guard, “but they just ignored this information. “If the feds cared - and they don’t seem to be too interested - they could follow the chain of custody of the dive-computer and charge all who were involved in removing it from the scene and taking it out of state for two years, instead of turning it over to the investigators,” he said. “In fact, in a case involving a divemaster in the Florida Keys, charges were brought against the DM for taking a dive-computer and not handing it over to the sheriff.” He now hopes that either the Assistant US Attorney or the Department of the Interior, which oversees the NPS, can be persuaded to reopen the case. “I don’t know how many insults the Mills family has to endure,” he told the Missoula Current. “They lost their daughter but then the system really failed them in fundamental ways. The people involved in this failed to do their jobs.”

I would never do diving like this because I am 100% sure I will panic. I strongly dislike being underwater that deep anyway. I want to be on safe ground XD

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I have apsolute none experience into diving but i was always wandering what would happen if lets say, 2 instructors lead a group of students, beginners into 15-20 meters depth and they see a big fish such as shark, okay, lets say it aint a great white but a shark, such as blue shark. How would you act yourself if one or more person start to panic because of all known potential dangers? Thank you

Thanks for the simple explanation. Great video. Kudos from the Maritimes.

they all but murdered that young lady. refusing to pay attention to her when she so desperately needed it, giving her faulty equipment, not helping her (ignoring her as stated above) that's murder in every sense.

Jim I just wanted to say thank you. I really like your stratagey of first preventing problems as much as possible first and then solving them. Im happy you have empathy and express it. You mention its terrible to watch and are mindful of how much stress they are going through. There are many people in the united states who have been deliberately trying to stress student divers out but cutting off their air and then trying to hold them down as if to display power over them, ultimately inciting panic. When I watched the video, I noticed as you were observing the woman with bulged eyes, I saw natural feelings in your face cycle. Its what told me you are one of those people who cares to make sure people arent harmed.

man im in love with the Gruns ladies.

Also selling a dry suit without an inflator hose should be criminal. It’s like selling a car without brakes

I gaurantee her lawyer is telling her to pretend she still "doesn't understand what went wrong". Pitiful.

Why did nobody discuss the lack of buddy breathing? When he approached his buddy with breathing problems and signals? The buddy should have offered his spare regulator, or he should have reached for it. He should have insisted his friend go up with him. We carry tablets to write messages on. If he had narcosis breathing his buddies air would have shown no improvement, but an ascent with a buddy would have been safer. I assume the buddy would have made a safety stop at 15 feet and put him back on his own if he felt the need to continue. I once failed to fully open my valve. At 100 feet I was short on air and rather than signaling my buddy some distance away. I reached back and turned the valve resolving the problem. In hindsight I would have gone to another diver and taken a few breaths before then trying to resolve the problem. Great videos. Its always better to learn from others mistakes.

Heading to Oshima Island in 3 weeks' time for the hammerheads! Any tips?

Great video. I am taking my open water this weekend.

I saw it was already stated in the comments, but my guess was also Roca Partida. We just returned from Socorro, dived the site and we didn’t see this. In the dive briefing we were told that there can be strong currents present. So this vortex somewhat makes sense considering it is a pinnacle out in the ocean, it was still blowing my mind seeing this and there was no word about anything like this mentioned by the crew.

Omg. This is the most disjointed and random video account of a dive fatality.

“Please donate… as I have” a lil much much my guy just a little 🤏🏽 much 🙄

Great video, but then again I like all your videos! I’m a NAUI diver and so was my father. It can be fun to be part of one camp over another sometimes, but only in good fun. I like that you framed it as two different options, each serving a different group of people.

I’m not sure this video is worth broadcasting. People livelihood is dependent on diving that location, which you obviously haven’t been to. Totally hot air. Go scuba diving.😢

FlowState Divers... period.

My thoughts echo each comment I read; this story is heartbreaking. As a SCUBA instructor, this is open and shut to me, and one interview with a SCUBA expert would have provided the AG with that information. What this brought home for me today (two years later, I know) is the trust that our students put in us when we take them in the water. We have to be worthy of that trust-every student, every dive.

You dodged a magnum hollow point glad things worked out

Jim I am so glad you created this video

This instructor should be in jail and the school should all so be at fault. This is discussing.

They were horizontal he was just holding his camera at a odd angle.

do you NEED air in your BC under water? i control my buoyancy with my lungs alone 👀 i am fairly new to diving so maybe i don’t know much. i used 4 kg of lead, a 2 mm shorty and a standard BCD in thailand (salty water, 29°C). when i fully exhale, i sink down. when i breathe at the bottom capacity of my lungs i stay down on the floor. when i breathe calmly an normal, i am very neutral. when i inhale fully and for a longer period, i rise up. when do i need to use the BCD under water?

What is the best way to stop a panic attack?

The world is full of crazy people. And also of bad scuba instructors.

What kind of rebreathers are you guys diving to worry that much........1 we can tell yall really dont use them much but 2. Im super skeptical of this guy saying rebreathers are 50/50 legit wtf are you diving with?

In my SADK I have: Small box of O-rings from Best Divers (plus HP spools and the port plugs I took out of the 1st stages) Small tool kit from IST Sports which contains: - Two small adjustable wrenches - Four small Allen hex keys (3mm, 5mm, 8mm, 3/16") - Zip ties - Needle-nose pliers - O-ring pick - Utility knife - Bit holder and bits (Philips 1, flat screwdriver, hex) Star Tool from XS Scuba (5/32", 3/16", 1/4" hex, valve tool, 1/2", 9/16", 5/8", 11/16" wrench) Brass O-ring pick set from XS Scuba (brass doesn't damage stainless steel or chrome) DIN to Yoke converter from Apeks Cinch loop from Tecline Surface pressure gauge Spare mask straps from Apeks Double-ended bolt snap from XDeep Straight and pre-bent D-rings and triglides from XDeep Allen hex keys from Wera (3950 SPKL): - 1.5mm for the transmitter housing - 3mm for the Apeks Goodman handle - 5mm for 1st stage port plugs - 8mm for cylinder valve adapter rings Wrenches from Wera (Joker 6003): - 14mm for HP hoses - 9/16" for LP hoses - 11/16" for LP swivel hoses Zip ties (+ reusable from Aqualung and Scubapro, which are different sizes) Spare mouth pieces from Apeks Lip guards from Apeks Pilot Croquis 6B automatic pencils and refills and Sharpies Magic eraser (for cleaning slates) Spare EezyCut Trilobite and replacement blades AA and CR2 Lithium batteries from Energizer (for dive computer and transmitter respectively) Spare parts that came with the dive computer 4mm bungee 2mm nylon line Hose retainer bar from Apeks Roll of cylinder marking stickers from GUE Trauma shears from DiveRite Lighter Mask defog

For spools you'll want about 1.5x line for the deployment depth. So, a 15m spool is for deploying from a depth of 10m. 30m for 20m depth. 45m for 30m depth. 60m for 40m depth. Prepare your spool (unless you're getting one of those fancy Apeks spools). Tie a large 30cm/1ft long leader, a small loop halfway up the leader, and a small loop at the end of the leader. This will make your life a lot easier when you're using it. Nitrox analyzers are often available in dive centers where you're having your cylinders filled, and also on most charters. If you're a frequent diver you can buy one of your own. O₂ sensors have a shelf life of about 1-1.5 years, and cost around $100. So keep that in mind as a recurring cost. Always carry a light. The longer wavelength lights like red, orange, yellow, get absorbed in deeper water, so everything looks green/blue/black. A light brings back the color in the dive. They're also great for pointing stuff out and looking into crannies. For frog kicks, the Jet fin design is probably the best. The buoyancy of the fins is only a factor for your trim. If your legs are floaty, get a (slightly) negatively buoyant fin like the Scubapro Jet or the Apeks RK3 HD. If your trim is pretty much spot on, the regular RK3 is probably your best option.

Hey, what’s the setup at 5:32 that your finger tips are disappearing into what I thought was a background? Thought I was seeing things. Or, not seeing things?!

This whole thing is just so sad. If it was her first drysuit dive, what was the instructor wearing? Because the instructor wasn't even qualified for drysuit diving, so if the instructor was wearing a wetsuit wasn't she cold? And if so why did she continue with the dive? And if she had a drysuit why the hell didn't she instruct Linnea on how to dive with one? Like wtf was the instructor doing? She [the instructor] must've really wanted to see some god damn fish that day or something, freaking weirdo. 7:41 It looks like the instructor can't even send a f*cking email to everyone she's training. WTF? They sound like a complete disorganised moron. And at 7:42 you can see that she goes on about staying at the lodge but the lodge was closed. The fact the instructor didn't email Linnea and she completely ignored her during the dive is just weird. It's like she had it out for her or something. What the f*ck were the Gull sfaff doing the whole freaking time? Liston knew he zippered the weights into her pockets, what was he doing when she was drowning?? He should've swam over and removed them, not looked around for fish or whatever he was doing. And Debbie swam past her as she was struggling? Like wtf, why was she so fixated on her compass when she should've been looking around at the other divers when she obviously had a duty of care for everyone? It's obvious that Debbie Snow is a complete idiot. I think it's profoundly fortunate that Bob was there. It sounds like he had more experience diving than the instructor did, or at least he was actually looking out for others on the dive. It's unbelievable that he was the only one out of the group who tried to help her. Linnea deserves justice and the system completely failed her. I've never scuba'd before even though I've been interested and took a medical for one ages ago. I'm sure part of learning is to stay calm if something goes wrong. I wonder if Linnea kept calm on the ledge and didn't end up falling, would it have been possible for Bob and Nathan (because you know the other two duds on the dive would be off doing whatever) to swim to her and each of them loop their arms under hers and swim her to the surface? It would've been very hard for her not to panic (if I was in her situation at 18 I probably would've freaked out just like her as well) but I'm just wondering. EDIT: after doing some research it appears that the Olson's (owners of Gull Dive) have been in trouble before with the law, their son killed people in a car crash. Seems like these people are always in trouble with the law.

Suing Potter was very American. Everyone is free to sell whatever they want to whomever they want, and it was not Potter's responsibility whatsoever to assess the degree of training of Linnea and Nathan. Above all, the complaint states that Potter should have mentioned diving the drysuit is unsafe as it is not equipped with an inflator hose. Conversely, Potter could have believed they already own an inflator hose or would get one elsewhere. I agreed with most of the complaint, but suing Potter was a mistake.

I really do not understand how a certified instructor can tippy dance around the "knowingly" part. I can see how a lay person may be liable, yet not criminally negligent since he was not a "certified" instructor. But in this specific case, where she was a "certified" instructor, would not the certification have some legal implication that the trainer is knowledgeable of proper procedures and safety practices? Then again, it may be that "certified" and "licensed" have different legal implications. A license is issued by governmental regulatory body. While a certificate is issued by any Joe that takes your money. Not to say that some Joes are not strict, but some do not care. I had a co-worker that attended a one week seminar and came back as a "certified nutritionist", whatever the hell that meant in his case as he knew nothing about biology or chemistry but the people that charged for the seminar gave him that at the end. Maybe, for all our perceptions, certifications do not carry much of a legal weight and do not make you different from lay persons and here we are thinking of certifications as licenses.

Didn’t she try to obstruct the investigation, conceal evidence and lie?

Take a shower and a little bit of mineral oil rent half of it off -----miracle------

Hi mate, I'm preparing for my Divemaster course, and really appreciate this video

One thing I was reading is the guy who owned Gull is also a high level executive in the Banking industry. Meaning he probably writes a lot of campaign checks to politicians.These have a way of making criminal charges go away, even though they are clearly warranted in this case. Tragedy around. I am not a dry suit diver, but even in my open water class I was taught about suit squeeze effects on a dry suit. There is no way in heck I would ever dive in a dry suit without an inflator hose. And then to be this overweighted? Total negligence by all involved, and sadly when people are young they don’t often realize how to say no to dangerous situations. Gull completely failed this woman, there is no way to sugarcoat it.

20 celsius is cold ? 20 celcius is a hot tub for me 😂😂😂 this is in a wetsuit 😂

I thought of starting with paddi but i do it with a club that is part of cft the Irish diving agency the story's I heard are shocking and 90 % of deaths are failure of protocols or neglect of equipment. There is also ego.

nice informative story

Nice video! Would you tell me the measure of the rubber inner tube? It’s a motorcycle one? A bicycle? Thanks. Greetings from Spain!

CMAS III since 30 years, I was trained to ascend fr(om 20m to surface No air but that takes nerve. This woman was gone, brain OFF. Now in training many years ago I was doing a training scent from 20 metres we were exchanging regulators. I was looking into his eyes and suddenly they were gone. I learnt afterwards one ear had clicked not the other, complete disorientation but he did not panic. I signalled abort, wrapped legs round him and forced pmy regulator injto his mouth. After that on no air I either inflated his BCD or Mine, started heading for the surface like a freight train while recovering my octopus. On surface both of us OK. Now I am a bad man, maby don't dive with me. I watched your film.. She was THE most dangerous thing that exists in diving. A bull shark, a hyammerhead shark is nothing compared to the streangth and vigour thyat a Homo Sapiens can do in Panic. Now let me give MY true opinion. If it was my girlfriend diving as my buddy I woulod have grabbed yer wrapped legs and got her to the surface. Either we would both be dead or bioth alive. If it was not my girlfriend dive buddy I would stay clear. Another diver in panic is the MOST dangerous creature in the ocean. So there you have it, I'm a bad man.

You couldn't pay me any amount of money to get into that tank with that shark even it was blind! l along with anyone else who's sane would be having nightmares for who knows how long.

I have a question: how does the first rotating first stage work?

Is it worth taking an interest in Apeks? How does the rotating first stage work?

We thought that this is an artificial shark not even very realistic.... 1:57 I'd fly out of this tank higher than any dolphin!

He appeared to be overweighted by 6-10lbs, based on an online calculator that I tested and trust. Getting the weight right will solve the yoyo problem. I know. I had been there.

I'm about to buy my first reg, and I'd like to know which weighs less on the mouth, this MTX-RC or the XTX50?

The only channel that beats everything else to me when you try to improve your diving is FlowState Divers - Master Series. It's leagues above anything else I've seen