Details are still sketchy, but CCN reported Skiles signaled to one of his fellow divers that he needed to ascend to the surface because he had run out of film, according to the sheriff's office. The other divers continued working and "did not maintain a visual" as Skiles made his way up.

When the other divers decided to ascend a few minutes later, they noticed Skiles' body lying motionless on the ocean floor. The divers quickly brought him to the surface and administered CPR.

Skiles was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, where he was pronounced dead.

A native of Florida, Skiles began diving at age 8. "I took to the water quite like a fish," he said. In fact, he never seemed to be on land. Even 44 years after that first dive, Skiles was as enthralled as ever by his work. He was a pioneering underwater cinematographer and still photographer, often working with National Geographic and scientific research teams to explore the inaccessible, diving deep to bring Earth's hidden treasures to surface.