Coast Guard ends searches for 16 people in two incidents, including 10 off Florida Keys
UPDATE: The Coast Guard has suspended both searches.
At 6:45 p.m. Monday, the Coast Guard called off its search for the 10 people who were reported missing about eight miles south of Long Key after they departed from Havana on Feb. 7 on a makeshift raft.
Coast Guard crews searched an area of about 12,300 square miles, roughly double the size of Hawaii, for a total of about 86 hours, the U.S. Coast Guard 7th District Southeast said in a news release.
“Regardless of nationality, the Coast Guard makes every effort to rescue those in peril at sea,” Capt. Adam Chamie, commander of Sector Key West said in the release. “Unfortunately, migrants who attempt to illegally enter the United States by boat, often travel aboard unseaworthy, make-shift vessels. Most times, these vessels are dangerously overloaded, actively taking on water, and are ill-equipped to safely transport any number of people. We made every effort to try and locate these 10 people, and our thoughts are heavy knowing we were unable to locate them and get them home to their loved ones.”
The Coast Guard also suspended its search on Sunday night for six people who were reported missing about 23 miles east of Fort Pierce. The Coast Guard searched an area of 10,694 miles for a total of 140 hours.
The Coast Guard is searching for 16 people in two missing persons rescue attempts off Florida waters.
According to the Coast Guard, 10 people are missing after they left Havana, Cuba, on board a 6-foot makeshift vessel bound for Florida.
On Saturday, the Coast Guard said it was still searching for the group off Key West waters.
Good Samaritan aids rescue
The other search is for six people not far from the Fort Piece area.
Though adept at ocean rescues, occasionally the Coast Guard touts the aid of a “good Samaritan” who helps with a rescue.
Coast Guard Sector Miami watchstanders got a call from a good Samaritan who rescued one man they have identified as a Jamaican national. He was pulled from the water about 23 miles east of Fort Pierce.
A Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce 45-foot Response Boat took the survivor to the shore and had him transferred to a local hospital.
But before he got there, the man told the Coast Guard that there were six other people who were in the water after their boat capsized Wednesday on their way from Bimini.
In November 2019, a good Samaritan turned a snorkeler’s severed arm over to a Coast Guard rescue crew on Thanksgiving off the coast of Palm Beach.
The snorkeler was Carter Viss, a marine biologist who told the Palm Beach Post his tale of survival one year later.
“Now I’ve got a lot of potential to make an impact on ocean conservation and boating safety. That’s what I want to do. I’m going to use this to its fullest,” he told the Palm Beach Post in October.
This story was originally published February 13, 2021 at 1:59 PM.
