MIAMI – Two men, missing from a weekend fishing trip, were found clinging to the hull of their capsized vessel 12 miles off the coast of Fort Pierce, Florida., Monday.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Miami received notification Sunday, that Justyn Bradley, 37 and Cory Bowman, 38, of Tequesta, Florida, had departed from Jupiter Inlet, Florida, for a fishing trip and had not returned that evening as planned.
The Coast Guard issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Bluefin, a smallboat crew from Coast Guard Station Fort Pierce, Florida and an Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Florida C-130 aircraft to search.
At approximately 8:30 a.m., Monday, the Coast Guard C-130 aircrew located the two men.
A Good Samaritan then arrived on scene and pulled Bradley and Bowman out of the water. The cutter Bluefin, and smallboat crew arrived shortly thereafter, and embarked the two men, and safely transferred them to shore with no medical concerns.
“This case highlights the importance of taking appropriate boating safety precautions, which directly contributed to the Coast Guard’s ability to locate and rescue these two boaters,” said Capt. Austin Gould, commander of Coast Guard Sector Miami “The detailed float plan these men filed with their family gave us an accurate starting point to begin our search effort, and ultimately helped save their lives.”
The Coast Guard was assisted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in coordinating this search and rescue effort.
The Coast Guard Cutter Bluefin is an 87-foot patrol boat, homeported in Fort Pierce.
For more information about boating safety please visit www.uscgboating.org.
