Mystery man’s body found during search for missing Florida diver — who family thinks may have blacked out

The search for a missing diver in Florida took a bizarre twist Monday when rescuers found a different body — whose identity is also a mystery.

Water rescuers made the bewildering discovery while searching off the coast of Fort Pierce for freediver Virgil Price, who had vanished while exploring a World War II-era shipwreck the day earlier.

The unknown man was pulled from the water some 30 miles from where family suspects Price succumbed to a blackout.

“This individual weighs approximately 200 to 225 lbs. and appears to be over 50 years of age. His clothing and physical characteristics do not match those of the missing diver from Sunday,” the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said.

Nearly everything about the man remains a mystery: he does not match any missing person reports in the area and it is not clear what caused his death, the department said.

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The body, however, “does not appear to have been in the water for an extended period of time.”

The strange discovery came just hours after the US Coast Guard suspended its search for Price, 39.

The experienced free diver was exploring the Halsey shipwreck, roughly 13 miles southeast from the shore, when “he failed to resurface,” the sheriff’s office said.

The 435-foot long ship — sunk by a German U-boat in 1942 — has become a popular diving destination. The wreck, broken in three pieces, rests 65 feet deep on the ocean floor, according to FishingStatus.

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According to his sister, Price was a skilled diver with nearly a decade of experience under his belt who had demolished depths well beyond where the SS Halsey lies.

“I’m not sure if he reached his goal yet of 300 feet of depth, but I know for sure he had made it well into the 250s to -70s. So this wasn’t that deep of a dive, and it was a clear day,” Brit Drozda told The Post Tuesday night, adding that Price could hold his breath for over five minutes.

Price was likely spearfishing — one of his favorite hobbies — when he experienced a blackout, Drozda theorized. The murky waters, great for fishing, may have contributed to his fate, as well as his proximity to the strong currents of the nearby Gulf Stream.

“It’s unbelievably hard to not know where he is, but in my heart of hearts I know he’s gone,” said Drozda.

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The grieving sister said she and her father had just walked out of Sunday morning Mass when they received the devastating news.

Although heartbroken by the loss, Drozda said he’s found some comfort knowing her brother died doing what he loved.

“He had such a passion for the ocean that if he were born with gills, he’d probably never would have left the ocean. He just was an incredible freediver and person. I mean, infectious,” she said.

“He was just this big teddy bear and big kid and just so playful and it’s so hard to put into words because he lived so much life in such a short period of time, and I am just so grateful that I got to spend that time with him … and I want people to know that like he cared so much about people and animals in the ocean.”

The USCG said it covered more than 1,415 miles over 36 hours in hopes of finding the missing man, but decided to halt the search “pending new info,” though they did not clarify what details led to the suspension.

“The decision to suspend an active search is never taken lightly. We extend our sincerest condolences to Mr. Price’s family,” Lt. Cmdr. John Beal said in a statement.

Price was identified as a “team member” at Florida Freedivers, a sporting goods store in North Palm Beach.

He was last seen wearing a green wetsuit with an orange stripe on the hood, yellow weights on his weight belt and black carbon fiber fins.

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