ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Coast Guard responded to a jet skier in distress approximately 1 mile north of Anclote Key, Fla., Saturday.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg were notified at 6:23 p.m. that 23 year-old Michael Conde was found floating and unconscious by a good Samaritan. A Coast Guard Station Sand Key 25-foot response boat crew responded, arriving on scene at 6:25 p.m., while the good Samaritan, an off-duty paramedic, began giving CPR to Conde.
A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater H60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Clearwater, Fla., also responded. Upon arriving on scene, a rescue swimmer was lowered from the helicopter and assisted in the transfer of the man to the Station Sand Key boat. CPR was continued while the boatcrew transported Conde to the Anclote Key boat ramp, where he was transferred to awaiting emergency medical personnel.
Conde was taken to Helen Ellis Hospital in Tarpon Springs, Fla., and later pronounced deceased.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is the investigating agency.
