Man waiting for help on stalled airboat is found dead in river, FL officials say

A boater who vanished while watching over a stalled airboat has been found dead in Florida’s Peace River, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The body of 56-year-old Benton Lindsey was recovered Monday, July 21, a day after he went missing, FWC officials said in a news release.

A cause of death has not been released.

“Preliminary information indicates that an airboat traveling on the Peace River in DeSoto County with two occupants onboard experienced some mechanical issues,” the FWC said.

“One of the occupants left the vessel and went on land to get assistance while the operator remained on the airboat. While the airboat was drifting down the river, a series of events led the operator to end up in the water.”

Details of those events were not released.

A search for Lindsey was initiated July 20 and continued through the night, officials said. He was found in the water Monday afternoon and pronounced dead, officials said.

Lindsey was with his wife near the DeSoto Veterans Memorial Boat Ramp when the airboat stalled around 9:30 p.m., WZVN reports.

“We don’t really know what happened, but he fell off the boat,” his stepdaughter, Andrea Brooks, told the station. “My mom did everything. It was dark. They couldn’t see him. She did everything she could to try to get to him. Before you know it, it just went quiet.”

DeSoto County is about a 95-mile drive southeast from Tampa.