Tonight a 68-year-old American national remains missing in the open seas off of Caye Caulker, and his brother is saying that the trip was doomed from the start.
Intense aerial and sea searches for John Drest were conducted today but as we went to air, there was no body found. As we told you last night, Drest who is from Omaha, Nebraska cruised into Belize aboard the Norwegian Dream Ship on Wednesday morning. At 9:45, he headed onto Discovery Expedition's "Belize Pride" catamaran along with 57 other tourists and 8 guides. A Discovery Expedition statement says that the group arrived at Shark Ray Alley at 11 am and less than a hour later, they realized that John Drest was missing. Drest was with his older brother Donald and his wife. The Discovery release states that the snorkelers entered water ranging in depth from 4 to 6 feet but Donald strongly disputes that. This evening he told Keith Swift that trip was troubled from the start and they encountered problems the moment the boat docked at Shark Ray Alley.
Donald Drest, Brother of Missing Snorkeler
"When I landed in the water I was way out of my league and no one ever told me that, so I want to empathize that it was not four to six feet; it was much deeper than that. And then I just started drifting away, I was almost gone; the current was so terrible. The current was so bad, my wife saw me and she started yelling and they sent someone out to get me. At that point my wife took her eyes off my brother, and he is from Omaha, Nebraska, and Nebraskans don't spend much time in water, they just believe in football---and she took her eyes off him and she lost him; she never saw him again. She started asking anyone by 11:25 where was my brother. I didn't think much of it because he is more athletic, he was always the athletic one and I was the scholarly one, and I thought he was just having a great time. But he did not get on the ship.
The current was horrible and then we found out that on the cruise line that we were on, there was another excursion that left earlier, that was much cheaper, and on that excursion trip they cancelled it after ten minutes because of the currents, and on trip it cost my brother his life."
Keith Swift,
When you arrived at the snorkeling spot, were you briefed about the depth of the water and the strong currents?
Donald Drest,
"No. They told us nothing like that and there was only one crew member from the cruise ship and there were 50 passengers and they had about 7 crew members from the catamaran."
Keith Swift,
Where were they when you brother went missing?
Donald Drest,
"I don't know. Someone wasn't looking out for him. When I got there
yesterday there was absolutely no ground to stand on and it was terrible. And no one ever checked us, it was only crew member from the ship and that crew member never checked anyone for their fins, their goggles, and their vests. And so my wife and I and my brother were the last three off and I got into trouble immediately and my wife saved me and my brother vanished. My wife is blaming herself because she took her eyes off him and I am blaming me because I talked him into it."
Keith Swift,
Could this have been prevented?
Donald Drest,
"Oh yes."
Keith Swift,
How so?
Donald Drest,
"It was total negligence."
Keith Swift,
On the part of who?
Donald Drest,
"I am not going to say who it was on the part of but I am just saying there are two outfits who totally committed negligence towards their passengers and as I said, they never checked out vests or anything. We just got into the water on our own and obviously they weren't watching for us. They weren't watching for my brother, they got me."
Keith Swift,
So are you saying the guides out there on the catamaran dropped the ball?
Donald Drest,
"I am not saying who dropped the ball. I am just saying that someone...it wasn't like most snorkeling trips I have been one. We did it off the Great Barrier Reef and they took counts every thirty minutes I think and this never took place here."
Keith Swift,
Are you mad Donald?
Donald Drest,
"Yeah I'm furious because I am heartbroken. I lost a great man and I had to call his daughters today...and my wife and I are wiped out and also living with guilt."
Keith Swift,
Sir it's been a day and your brother has not been found, are you fearing the worse?
Donald Drest,
"Oh yes and my wife and I will stay here in Belize City until they find him and we've already cancelled our tickets back to El Paso on Saturday and we'll go with him, dead or alive, to Omaha, Nebraska."
John Drest's family in Omaha Nebraska has already been informed. His family tells 7NEWS that they are considering their legal options.
Norwegian's agent in Belize is Marine and Services. A representative told 7NEWS that they are only responsible for the tourists from ship to shore. They are however working with the family.
