**Update
Even after the Coast Guard suspended its search for missing Rockledge diver Nikki Cuomo, her family, friends and fellow divers refuse to give up.
They spearheaded a search that included five private planes and several boats, and elicited hundreds of offers of help.
The support -- coordinated through an online message board, Spearboard.com -- yielded what could be a breakthrough when two private planes spotted a slender yellow diving buoy floating nearly 30 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral on Monday.
That spurred the Coast Guard back into action. A helicopter from Savannah, Ga., a Falcon jet from Miami and a Coast Guard cutter were sent out Tuesday to search the area for Cuomo, who failed to resurface from a 100-foot dive Saturday.
So far, the resumed search has turned up nothing, but Cuomo's family is convinced that if anyone can survive more than 72 hours in the water, she can.
"I can't think of any girl who has a better chance of surviving this," said Tom Lippitt, a Merritt Island scuba diver.
Cuomo, an experienced spearfisherman, was diving with a friend about 15 miles off Jupiter Inlet when she failed to resurface, Petty Officer Donnie Brzuska said.
Her friends searched for about an hour before calling for help.
The Coast Guard searched 2,080 square miles until dark Sunday, at which time officials decided to suspend the search.
"Suspending a search is one of toughest things we have to do," Brzuska said. "We only suspend a search when we are sure we've done 100 percent everything in our power and eliminated every possibility. We searched a huge area for more than 24 hours, with resources both surface and air, and came up empty-handed."
When the Coast Guard search ended, Cuomo's family and friends pulled together to continue, said her father, Robert Brater.
On Monday, during a search of the waters near Cape Canaveral, a chartered twin-
engine plane carrying Lippitt spotted the diving buoy -- 118 nautical miles north of where Cuomo was last seen.
"Computer drift models show the possibility that if (Cuomo) was still on the surface she could have floated into this area," Brzuska said.
Cuomo, 38, who worked at Incredible Horizons Academy, is well known in the diving community.
"Many people from around the country have committed resources and donations," Brater said.
When she disappeared, Cuomo was wearing a 6-millimeter-thick dive suit with a hood. The main concern now is dehydration.
"If anybody can make it, I think she can," her father said.
(FloridaToday) | 
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