Man dies snorkeling offshore of Key Largo

A Cincinnati, Ohio man died while snorkeling offshore of Key Largo Wednesday.

65 year old Michael Schmidt and his wife were on board the 42 foot catamaran Reef Roamer, on a snorkeling trip. They were both in the water at about 2:45 p.m. when Schmidt began having trouble. Both the crew on the vessel and other snorkelers in the water heard Schmidt’s wife call for assistance. The vessel’s mate jumped in the water and swam to him, then towed him back to the boat performing rescue breathing on the way. Once on board the vessel, CPR was performed until the Coast Guard arrived on scene, after which they took over attempts to save Schmidt’s life.

The boat, escorted by the Coast Guard arrived at the Port Largo Homeowner’s Park at 3:20 p.m. At that point,  paramedics from Key Largo fire rescue transported him to Mariner’s Hospital where he was pronounced dead.