Their small boat began taking on water off the Keys. Then, the craft flipped

A Florida couple were rescued at sea off the Florida Keys on Wednesday night after their boat began filling with water, police said.

Edward Charles Gonsorek, 65, and Kim Marie Gonsorek, 64, of Safety Harbor, Florida, were found on top of their 17-foot overturned boat floating about 4.5 miles off Marathon in the Middle Keys.

Neither was seriously injured, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

A call went out at 5 p.m. that a 2001 white fiberglass Scout boat with a blue bimini top was taking on water on the oceanside of Boot Key Harbor.

The U.S. Coast Guard Station Marathon, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Marine Deputy Wilfredo Guerra responded.

They were brought back to shore by the FWC and Sea Tow was called to salvage the boat.

“What caused the boat to take on water is under investigation by the FWC,” said sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Linhardt.

Gwen Filosa

Miami Herald

Gwen Filosa covers Key West and the Lower Florida Keys for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald and lives in Key West. She was part of the staff at the New Orleans Times-Picayune that in 2005 won two Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She graduated from Indiana University.