Coast Guard searches for Canadian filmmaker Rob Stewart off Florida Keys

The US Coast Guard is searching the Atlantic off of the Florida Keys for a Canadian filmmaker who went missing while scuba diving.

The agency said in a news release that the crew of The Pisces reported 37-year-old Rob Stewart missing about 5.15pm on Tuesday in the vicinity of Alligator Reef, which is off Lower Matecumbe Key. Stewart is from Toronto, Canada.

The Facebook page for Stewart's 2007 documentary Sharkwater shared the news and asked for donations on a GoFundMe account to support the search. It had raised more than US$26,000 by mid-day Wednesday.

Stewart is a wildlife photographer, filmmaker and conservationist. His films include Sharkwater and Revolution, released in 2013.

Coast Guard officials say the Navy, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Monroe County Sheriff's Office are assisting in the search.He's also written two books, Sharkwater: An Odyssey to Save the Planet and Save the Humans.