Diver drowns in SCUBA mishap at Sand Harbor

A Kansas man died Wednesday en route to Washoe Medical Center after a SCUBA diving mishap at Sand Harbor State Park.

Richard L. Patton, 45, of Scott City, Kan., was declared dead by medics aboard a CareFlight helicopter that was transporting him to Washoe Medical Center after he was pulled from the waters off Sand Harbor, authorities said.

Patton was diving with Wanda Stokley, 39, a Reno woman, between 4 and 5:30 p.m. when his SCUBA gear got damaged after he hit his head on large boulders in the waters just off a rocky point at the harbor, according to Michelle Young, a Washoe County Sheriff's spokeswoman.

He had been submerged for several minutes before Stokley could reach him and bring him to the surface, reports stated.

Deputies at the Incline Substation received the call for help at Sand Harbor at 5:30 p.m.

Several bystanders swam to aid Patton and Stokley, including a California doctor who began resuscitative efforts on Patton before help from Nevada State Parks and the North Lake Tahoe Fire Protection District arrived, Young said in a release.

The initial call for help came from a bystander with a cellular phone who heard Stokley call for help.

Medics treated Stokley on the rocky outcropping while other crews took over resuscitative efforts on Patton in a boat at the harbor's boat launch.

Fire district medics treated Patton as a drowning victim when they began their rescue efforts, authorities said at the scene.

Stokley was taken to Incline Village Health Center to be treated for exhaustion, officials reported.

Patton and Stokley arrived at Sand Harbor at 2 p.m. and began diving around 4 p.m.

Windy conditions caused waves to start up at the time the call for help was received by the substation's dispatch center.