Body in Gulf of Mexico identified as US Air Force pilot instructor, Florida cops say

A U.S. Air Force airman diving off the Florida Panhandle was found dead over Veterans Day weekend, according to investigators.

Texas native Nicholas Brown went missing around 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10, according to the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office.

He was last seen in open water about a mile south of East Pass near Destin, officials say. Destin is on a barrier island about 45 miles east of Pensacola.

His body was “located Saturday morning in about 80 feet of water, about 50 feet from where he was last seen,” the sheriff’s office told McClatchy News in a Nov. 13 email.

Investigators have not released a cause of his death.

The husband and father was “free-diving” when he vanished, according to a GoFundMe fundraiser. Free diving does not include underwater breathing equipment, forcing the diver to hold their breath for long periods.

Brown, 34, was assigned to the 33rd Fighter Wing at Eglin Air Force Base, the 33rd Fighter Wing reported in a news release.

“Brown was an instructor pilot for the 58th Fighter Squadron at Eglin Air Force Base and was from Austin, Texas,” the release said. “Details surrounding the death are under investigation.”

He was diving near a passage between Florida’s western most barrier islands. Diving is popular in the area because of a series of “artificial reef modules” created to mimic natural reef features that attract marine life, according to the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Florida Visitors Center.

This story was originally published November 13, 2023 at 7:19 AM with the headline "Body in Gulf of Mexico identified as US Air Force pilot instructor, Florida cops say."