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Detectives said Kimberly Houtz’s death appears to be accidental but it is under investigation pending an autopsy by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

LAKELAND — Kimberly Houtz had been scuba diving many times before.

But Houtz’s trip off St. Pete Beach on Saturday turned tragic just after she entered the water.

Houtz, 54, of Lakeland, was exploring a popular dive wreck 13 miles west of the beach in about 37 feet of water with her boyfriend, 57-year-old Jay Bryant, the Tampa Bay Times reported. But right before she entered the water, Houtz complained that her diving equipment was malfunctioning.

Within five minutes of being underwater, Houtz came to the surface in “obvious distress,” witnesses said to detectives, The Times reported.

The boat arrived at Tierra Verde Marina and paramedics transferred Houtz to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg Hospital. She died at 3:15 p.m. on Saturday, The Times reported.

Friends described Houtz as happy, bubbly and always willing to help people.

“She was the best mother I’ve ever known,” said Laura Burger, who grew up with Houtz in San Antonio in Pasco County. “She was just full of life.”

Childhood friend Kay Esposito said she and Houltz had reconnected recently.

“She was just fun to be around,” Esposito said.

Houtz was divorced from Kevin Dorsett, an ophthalmologist in Lakeland. The couple have two daughters, Christine and Elizabeth, and three grandchildren.

Burger said she was devoted to her grandchildren, taking off work so she could help her daughter with the children.

Houtz worked as a national sales training manager at Sanofi Genzyme, a Massachusetts-based drug company that focuses on developing specialty treatments for debilitating diseases.

Pictures on Facebook show her smiling with Bryant on ski trips and boat excursions.

Burger said she was an experienced scuba diver and had previously traveled extensively on a boat with Dorsett.

The boat was headed back to shore on Saturday because of Houltz’s complaints when she lost consciousness. Passengers radioed for help and began to administer CPR, the Times reported.

About a mile offshore, a rescue boat from Eckerd College Search and Rescue met the fishing boat and used a defibrillator and oxygen to treat Houtz.

Detectives said Houtz’s death appears to be accidental but it is under investigation pending an autopsy by the Medical Examiner’s Office, the Times reported.

Steve Forman, owner of Scuba Etcetera, questioned why Houtz would have gone under if the equipment were malfunctioning.

The diver of 50 years speculated that Houtz may have suffered a heart attack and wondered if the equipment was faulty since she was able to make it to the surface.

“I can’t think of anything that could cause someone to come up,” said Forman, adding that he didn’t know all the facts about the incident. “The nauseated stomach is subject of contaminated air but that won’t kill someone once they’re on the surface.”

Services will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 175 Lake Hollingsworth Drive, Lakeland.

John Chambliss can be reached at john.chambliss@theledger.com or 863-802-7588.

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