Hunt for US Army officer missing after Weymouth diving

A major search of Weymouth Bay was launched on Saturday but nothing was found

Further searches are being planned to locate a US Army officer who went missing while diving off Dorset.

Lt Col Mary Ewing, 45, is feared dead after she became separated from her "buddy" while they were looking for scallops in Weymouth Bay on Saturday.

A sea search involving coastguard helicopters was launched but was later scaled down when nothing was found.

Lt Col Ewing's dive team has informed the coastguard they intend to search for her body in the coming days.

A spokesman for Portland Coastguard said: "By now it is almost certain that her body will be at the bottom [of the bay] due to the amount of weights she would have been wearing.

"Her team has informed us they intend to carry out a dive to try and find her."

The Army officer, who was living in Surrey, had been diving from a local boat on the Adamant Shoal, near Lulworth Banks, when she failed to return to the surface.

The case is being investigated by Dorset Police as a missing person inquiry.

HM Coastguard and a number of boats were involved in the immediate search on Saturday, which continued until Sunday evening.