JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Coast Guard is searching for a missing 69-year-old man near the St. Augustine, Fla., inlet Friday morning.
John W. Franklin, of Palatka, Fla., departed from Vilano Beach, Fla., Thursday afternoon on the Blue Star, a 24-foot sailing vessel. The Blue Star was found entangled with another vessel’s anchor line Friday at approximately 9 a.m. near the Comanche Cove Marina. The engine was still running and no one was found aboard the boat.
Franklin has been described as a white male, approximately 5 feet and 8 inches tall, weighing 120 pounds. He has a full gray beard and dark hair. He was last seen wearing a white sweater-like jacket with rhinestones and a pair of gray sweatpants.
The Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office are all searching for Franklin by air and sea.
If anyone has any additional information about Franklin’s whereabouts, please call the Coast Guard at 904-564-7511.
