The body of a missing shark documentary director has been found off the coast of Florida - not long after the US Coast Guard called off its search.

Rob Stewart, who directed and narrated the 2006 film Sharkwater, disappeared after a deepwater dive.

Officials had scoured 5,987 square miles - an area larger than the state of Connecticut - but found no sign of the 37-year-old.

But about an hour after the US Coast Guard suspended its search, a volunteer fire team discovered a body about 300ft (91m) from his last-known location, which was at a depth of 220ft (67m).

The Key Largo Fire Department has identified the body as Stewart's, but the coroner is yet to officially confirm the identity.


On Facebook, Stewart's sister Alexandra said: "Rob has been found, peacefully in the ocean. There are no words.

"We are grateful to everyone who helped search, and happy that Rob passed doing what he loved."

Image: A shark being filmed in close proximity. Pic: Facebook/Sharkwater

Stewart was working on a sequel to the Sharkwater documentary when he got into difficulty.

The filmmaker and his dive partner had gone to retrieve an anchor at the time of his disappearance.

His dive partner had collapsed after returning to the boat. Stewart had signalled that he was OK after getting back to the surface, but later went missing.

More than £120,000 was raised to help look for Stewart.

A GoFundMe page said he was "scuba diving on the queen of nassau wreck, six miles off shore of Islamorada Florida, when he disappeared after surfacing" on Tuesday.

Mr Stewart, also a writer and conservationist, had argued in Sharkwater that the creatures were misunderstood.