Dan Frolec faced 40 years in a Croatian prison after a fellow diver perished while exploring an underwater cave – followed by the coastguard who was sent to recover the body
T
en metres underwater, surrounded by darkness, all Dan Frolec could hear was the engine noise of the boat above him. It had been well over half an hour since his friend Tom had descended into a mysterious underwater hole to look for their other friend, Michael. Frolec began to fear the worst – maybe it had swallowed both of them up for good.
He had almost given up hope when bubbles of air hit his mask. Somebody was coming out. A dim light shone out of the cave and Tom emerged alone. He shook his head, signalling to Frolec that Michael was still lost and, by now, probably dead. Little did Frolec know that things were about to get a lot worse.
It was 2002 and Frolec, who was then 32 and living in Prague, had been looking forward to this Croatian getaway with his diving buddies. Pressures at work had been mounting and his love life was, to put it plainly, complicated. Before leaving for the trip, he’ decided to break up with his girlfriend of five years to make things official with his new love, Jarka. A year before, he and Jarka had met in a nightclub and, he says, “fell in love immediately”. Earlier that day, Frolec had sent Jarka a text message while he basked in the afternoon sun: “I love you, fox.”
