Boater who died during first day of lobster miniseason is identified

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office has identified the body of boater found Wednesday near Hillsboro Inlet.

The agency said Peter Mendez was a 70-year-old Davie resident who authorities believe was lobster-diving.

According to BSO, Hillsboro Beach police contacted the sheriff’s office before 9 a.m. Wednesday morning for help in locating an unidentified man who was said to have fallen from his boat about a half a mile from the inlet. BSO, along with the U.S. Coast Guard and other maritime agencies, began searching the area.

Despite being first spotted by recreational divers shortly before 1 p.m., the body continued to drift away before being recovered by BSO about three hours later.

This death comes at the start of lobster miniseason, which ends Thursday night. Prior to the man’s death, the two-day season had been going smoothly, according to marine authorities.

Last year, no one died in South Florida during lobster miniseason.

This story was originally published July 24, 2019 at 11:53 AM.