USCG File Photo
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach received notification from a bystander at a waterside restaurant in Boca Grande reporting that two people had gone overboard from a 17-foot recreational vessel, after being hit by a rogue wave, at 11:16 a.m., Friday.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg launched Fort Myers Beach 33-foot Special Purpose Craft – Law Enforcement Boat crew, and a Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla., MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew.
Crews arrived onscene at 11:40 a.m., and are currently searching for Terry Reid, a 35 year-old male, who was reportedly not wearing a lifejacket.
The two additional persons who had been in the vessel, Anthony Jackson of North Port, Fla., and his eight year-old son, have since been taken to shore by a good Samaritan.
Along with the Coast Guard, marine units from Lee County and Charlotte County Sheriff’s Departments, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are assisting in the search.
The Coast Guard reminds boaters that the proper emergency equipment, including a marine band radio, lifejackets, emergency signaling devices, and filing a float plan, are essential to keeping safe on the water. Instructions for filing a float plan can be found at http://www.floatplancentral.org/
