Crews search for missing boater in Nixon Beach

A 31-year-old man was missing Sunday night after jumping into the water from a rental boat in Nixon Beach to help another boat that was caught on the rocks, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.

The Coast Guard identified the man as Paul Flowers, from New York.

FWC Spokesman Lorenzo Veloz said a group of 16 people went out Sunday on two 22-foot rental boats. By Sunday afternoon, “really bad squalls were coming through.”

“The wind and the rain really picked up,” he said, adding that the people on board were not experienced boaters.

The boats, which were anchored, were pushed closer to the rocks. A group on one of the boats was able to pick up the anchor and head in, but the other boat was stuck, Veloz said.

That’s when two people from the freed boat jumped into the water to help the other boat. One man was rescued with the help of a rope.

By the time that man was on board, the boats lost track of the other man, Veloz said.

The United States Coast Guard, the FWC, city of Miami and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue began searching.

“The weather was not cooperating,” Veloz said.

As of late Sunday, Flowers was still missing and crews were still searching.

This story was originally published March 20, 2016 at 10:59 PM with the headline "Crews search for missing boater in Nixon Beach."