Coast Guard suspends search for man who fell overboard from Florida dinner cruise
The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended their search for a 37-year-old man who fell overboard from a dinner cruise ship near Fort Myers Friday.
The man missing is Joel Henderson. He was one of the people on board The Capt. JP., a Fort Myers-based 475-passenger paddlewheel boat that travels along the Caloosahatchee River. It is run by J.C. Cruises, according to its website.
The Coast Guard says it was notified around 8 p.m. Friday by the ship’s operator that a male passenger had fallen into the Caloosahatchee River near Fort Myers. The man, later identified as Henderson, was not wearing a lifejacket, according to the Coast Guard.
WZVN, an ABC-affiliated TV station that covers Southwest Florida, reports that Henderson was going from the third to the second deck on the boat when he slipped because of the rain and fell into the river.
J.C. Cruises did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Coast Guard immediately sent out search crews by air and water, including a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from the Coast Guard’s air station in Miami, a 29-foot response boat with a small crew from its Fort Myers Beach station and a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Clearwater.
After searching for 11.5 hours between east of Cape Coral Bridge and west of Highway 41, the Coast Guard suspended its search for Henderson late Saturday.
“Our sincerest condolences go out to the family and friends,” said Cmdr. Shawn Lansing, deputy commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg. “We ask that all mariners keep a sharp lookout while transiting the waterways in the Caloosahatchee River and to call our command center at 727-824-7534 with any reports of new information. “
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Myers Beach police, and Florida Fish and Wildlife also assisted in the search.
This story was originally published December 6, 2020 at 3:11 PM.
