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August 26, 20031st shipwreck dive becomes a tragedyLaura Krause had 11 years of experienceBY MARLA MCMACKIN      Record-Eagle staff writer MANISTEE - Jane Krause never liked to think about the time her son and granddaughter spent scuba diving in the Great Lakes. "I never wanted to know when they were out in the water because it bothered me so much," she said. Her worst fears were realized Sunday when her 27- year-old granddaughter, Laura Krause, died of what experts call "dry water drowning" before she could make it to the Three Brothers shipwreck in rough waters off the southeast shore of South Manitou Island. Eleven years of diving experience were not enough to prepare the Benzonia woman for a muscle spasm in her throat, which cut off her air supply and caused her to pass out in Lake Michigan. "It was her first shipwreck," said Cheryl Krause, Laura's mother. "And she never even got under the water." Laura Krause ventured out by boat to the shipwreck with her father and longtime diving companion, Arthur Krause, and two other divers, her mother said. Laura entered the water and was some distance from the boat when she grew nervous about the choppy conditions - waves were 3 to 5 feet - and decided to return. As she headed back, Arthur Krause realized his daughter was in trouble when he saw her spit out her regulator. He urged her to put it back in, but it was too late. "She had a muscle spasm in her throat which cut off the air," Cheryl Krause said. "She made it back to the boat but then, she just passed away." Arthur Krause and the two other divers were able to get Laura back into the boat and raced her to a dock on the nearby island. Once there, a nurse and a paramedic who were awaiting the ferry back to the mainland stepped up to the scene and began CPR. The U.S. Coast Guard airlifted Krause to Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, but efforts to revive her were unsuccessful. Dale Blum, an emergency room doctor at the hospital, said so-called dry water drowning accounts for 10 to 15 percent of all drowning deaths. "Your upper airway goes into a spasm," he said. "Water doesn't get into the lungs, it just cuts off oxygen to the body." The Three Brothers, popular for its visibility in waters that range from 5 to 45 feet deep, would have been Laura Krause's first shipwreck dive. Because of morning storms, Laura Krause and her father almost put off the dive for another day. Jane Krause said they changed their minds when the clouds moved out and the sun began to shine. "The weather got so darn nice," she said, adding that her son and granddaughter planned to take Laura's new motorcycle for a ride when they returned. "She was such a happy-go-lucky kid," Jane Krause said. "She was a daddy's girl and that's going to be hard on my son." Cheryl Krause said her daughter also enjoyed motorcycling, playing guitar and reading. "She was very active," Cheryl Krause said. "And she had a heart of gold." Laura Krause graduated from Manistee High School in 1995. She managed Talk of the Town in Traverse City and also worked for Wesco in Benzonia. Police on Sunday incorrectly listed her hometown as Kingsley. Visitation for Laura Krause is Wednesday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Funeral services are Thursday at 11 a.m. at the Herbert Funeral Home in Manistee.
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