Following the request of the family, names will be omitted from this update.

This is how Bruce’s Legacy found its way to Sibiu, Romania on December 29th, 2022.

On December 16th, two local gentlemen from Sibiu, Romania went fishing on the Olt River near Bradu, Romania.  

Then on the morning of December 17th, the wife of one of the fishermen contacted authorities after unsuccessful attempts to contact her husband.

Members from the Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (ISU) were dispatched and quickly located the 42 yr-old victim in the shallow water of the shoreline.  

The small boat the two men were using was also found capsized in the river approximately 100 meters near the first victim and another 100 meters was the fishing sonar the two were using.

Despite the continued efforts of family, friends, additional teams of divers, firemen, mountain rescue, police, fishermen from the local fishing club and even drones, the 37-yr old victim remained missing.

With the fish-finder equipment recovered on shore, the fishing club members knew they could potentially use the data to locate the 2nd victim.

This is when a member of the Sibiu fishing club contacted John Easton.  John is from South Africa and is known for his expertise with fish-finding sonar.  It was John, who then pointed the Sibiu community towards Bruce’s Legacy.

Lulian and the victim’s brother helped coordinate logistics and valuable information for our travel to Sibiu.  We arrived in Sibiu, Romania on December 29th, with the intention for us to to start our search December 30th.

So on the morning of December 30th, after a couple hours of getting the equipment situated on the boat and working through some technical difficulties, we were on the river scanning with the Klein 4900 tow-fish. 

Within 45 minutes of scanning we had a sonar image we felt was likely our victim.  To be sure the sonar image was in fact what we were seeking, we sent down the Outland ROV to investigate.

Within a few minutes the ROV sonar and camera were able to help confirm our victim was located.  

We then used the ROV claw to hold onto the victim so the local dive team could follow the tether from the boat directly down to the victim and bring him to the surface for recovery.

Traveling such a distance to assist the family and Sibiu community in Romania has been a truly unique experience.   Of course these are not the circumstances one expects or anticipates to meet such wonderful people. 

Nonetheless, we’ve felt welcomed with open arms, looked after with care and compassion and we simply cannot express our gratitude for their hospitality.

We’ve been reminded just how small the world is and that no matter the GPS coordinates, religion, ethnicity etc., Bruce’s Legacy will continue our mission to help bring closure to those who have befallen tragic circumstances.