One of three missing Florida Keys boaters found
One of three boaters who have been missing since they left the dock in Key Largo Thursday was rescued in Biscayne Bay Sunday night, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The man, who the agency has not named, is recovering at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami-Dade.
A civilian boat crew found him around 9:30 p.m. and transferred him to a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue boat, the Coast Guard said. The fire crew took him to the hospital.
On Thursday, he and the other two men left the Caribbean Club, a bar and small marina on the bay side of mile marker 104, in a 23-foot Proline vessel, according to the Coast Guard.
Shortly before 4 p.m. Sunday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reported the boat overdue to Coast Guard Sector Key West.
The man told first responders that he and his friends encountered a storm Friday, which capsized their boat. He swam for help while the other men stayed with the boat wearing life jackets, the Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard released a statement on Twitter shortly before 1 p.m. Monday that the boat was found in Haulover Inlet on the northern end of Biscayne Bay.
Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan Lally, a Coast Guard spokesman, said Monday that the agency is still looking for the other boaters.
The search party includes an HC-144 Ocean Sentry from Air Station Miami and an HC-130 Hercules plane from Air Station Clearwater, according to the release.
“Unfortunately, it’s a large area, considering where they started and where they found him,” Lally said.
This story was originally published November 11, 2019 at 12:25 PM.
