Born in Missoula, Montana, on January 12, 2002, Linnea Mills was a compassionate, adventurous soul with a passion for nature, people, and the sea. Her empathy for others, humor, and resilience touched everyone around her. Linnea and her family spent part of her childhood in Bhutan, where she earned the name “Wangmo,” meaning “strong woman” and later fell in love with the ocean in North Carolina and became a certified SCUBA diver. Her spirit of adventure led her to dive on shipwrecks, explore the Great Barrier Reef, and embark on a solo journey across the American West, encountering kindness and forging deep connections along the way.

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Linnea also had a strong sense of Justice. On November 1, 2020, she was killed by negligence in a scuba training class in Glacier National Park. As her brother Nick wrote: “Life is fragile. My sister spent her last moments suffocating - without a dry suit inflator or ditchable weights - at more than 90 feet deep in Lake McDonald during a class led by an instructor required to provide duty of care. And I won't be silent about that.”

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Linnea’s whole story – her beautiful life and devastating death - is now beginning to be told in film and in print. Although many people have died scuba diving, Linnea’s case stands out because the evidence was so plentiful and unequivocal, and because Linnea’s family made a commitment to tell the story no matter what.

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So what can be done, what can you do, to save lives by changing the culture of scuba diving and perhaps other pay-to-play outdoor activities? Here we offer some ways to improve safety for you, your family, and the world, whether you are an experienced scuba diver or a non-diver.