I am a search and rescue diver for missing people. One day I found a person that wasn't missing.

I’m a search and rescue diver. Typically it’s a sad but rewarding job. It’s rewarding because we usually find the bodies of the dead. And that might sound like a weird definition of rewarding but it’s the truth. We usually find the bodies. Sometimes we save people. But usually we find bodies.<br><br>I’ve been shot at, stabbed, attacked, and had animals die on me. I’ve had to do the most terrible search and rescue dives in the most terrible private waters. I’ve been deep into cemeteries, looking for a dead guy that’s the only lead in a missing child’s case. I’ve had so many drowning deaths it’s like some people want to die or something.<br><br>This one was a little different. A guy goes fishing, fits the profile of a depressed guy who might kill himself, disappears at sea, boat found empty and completely fine.<br><br>Search and rescue is called, and we’re told to look for a body.<br><br>I start the search, and it’s nothing odd at first. I find a spot with some unusual activity, and there’s this guy just sitting on the bottom, sort of leaning against a rock face.<br><br>Now, you can’t see much underwater. That’s why you carry a light. And the light that I shine on this guy, shows me where he is. I get a good lock on his face. It’s pale and gray. <br><br>I swim up to him. He’s sitting there just sort of looking into space. No diving gear at all. No breathing equipment. He’s just sitting there.<br><br>I signal for him to grab my arm, and he doesn’t react. I reach out and take him by the waist, and we ascend to the surface.<br><br>I send a signal back to the boat that we’ve found the guy. They ask if he’s dead, and I tell them he’s alive but not responsive. <br><br>Now, you’re probably wondering, should he be alive or dead? The correct answer is dead. You can’t just sit on the bottom of the ocean without breathing equipment. And he had none.<br><br>So they pick us up and we get him on board. They ask me what’s going on with him. I tell them I have no idea. I check his pulse, and he’s got one! They call in a report to the Coast Guard, and they tell us that they’ve never heard of anything like this before. They advise us to get him to a hospital. We put him in a body bag, and tell them it’s a missing persons case. <br><br>The hospital can’t figure out what’s wrong with him. They check all the usual stuff, drugs, hypothermia, drowning...there’s none of that. He’s a healthy guy, just doesn’t react to anything. Then I have to tell them what I found.<br><br>The doctor says there’s no way someone could be alive in that condition. I guarantee him I have no idea, but that’s what happened.<br><br>Now I get a call today from an old Coast Guard buddy. They couldn’t figure out how he’d be alive, but they ran his DNA and it doesn’t match anyone. Then they ran his fingerprints, and there was a match. <br><br>Fifteen years ago, a guy and his daughter were in a car accident and went into a lake. The car was recovered, but the bodies were never found. This guy, is the guy they couldn’t find. Print confirmed it.<br><br>So, we now know who he is. But no idea what happened.<br><br>Edit: To answer the questions, he's still alive but hasn't changed. He hasn't reacted to anything. They even have him locked up in an apartment building, with a caretaker because they don't know what to do with him.