Posted on 03/03/2009 7:02:57 PM PST by metmom
The Coast Guard called off its search for three missing football players at sunset Tuesday.
The news came after crews combed choppy waters off the Florida Gulf Coast for a third full day since NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith and a third friend William Bleakley disappeared. Their fishing boat capsized in stormy seas Saturday evening.
One of the four on the excursion, Nick Schuyler, survived.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
sad, I wonder what was the type of boat
It is sad. This is why I would never take a 21 foot boat 50 miles offshore. If I was going 50 miles off shore I would certainly spend a few bucks on a EPIRB so the coast guard would have a chance of finding me.
The gulf can get very rough and storms come up quick.
That SUCKS> They could still be alive.
21 foot everglades. nice boat but too small for taking far offshore especially in rough weather.
They’ve been in 68 degree water since Saturday afternoon. Even if they have their lifejackets on they would be dead from hypothermia.
So you say. But I think not. They could still be alive. Why quit now. Give it a chance.
What a tragedy...Shuyler said the helicopter lights were above them that first night.
Very sad, what a blow to the families. I had hoped for a miracle.
It’s so unlikely that they are still alive. They have been in the water since Saturday.
I can’t imagine going out on the water without checking the forecast and radar first.
But that’s just the meteorologist in me. I don’t go to the store without doing that.
That makes it even worse. They all could have been rescued then.
Too bad these guys had more money than sense.
“So you say. But I think not. They could still be alive. Why quit now. Give it a chance.”
So I say? No, so the Coast Guard says. Survival tables show its possible to survive up to 40 hours in 68 degree water. Its been 72 hours.
If they were alive the Coast Guard would have found them.
Why quit now? Because it costs a lot of money to search, puts other lives at risk, and takes those rescuers away from helping other people.
It's miserable, very windy.
Those poor guys were in this kind of weather on the open sea ....how very sad.
“I can’t imagine going out on the water without checking the forecast and radar first.”
The storms can come up very very quick and you cannot out run them. From the local news the boat overturned while at anchor. Tells me they stayed there too long and the water got too rough. There were waves to 15 feet Saturday evening. This was only a 21 foot boat.
I feel so sorry for the parents. The father of one of these young men, I think Mr. Bleakely’s father, could not give up hoping. And how much worse it is for him deluding himself that his son was still alive and the Coast Guard was abandoning him to a lonely, cold death. I can’t imagine the suffering of the poor man. At least the dead men are now freed from earthly sorrows and physical pain; this father will live with his heartbreak forever.
Highly unlikely, it turned very cold there over the weekend and the reporters who were onshore waiting were all commenting how cold it was... Likely sharks got them.
Apparently, they found a life jacket and cooler 16 miles from the boat. But nothing else.
I actually had frost on my car windows this morning. Good for a joke now and then, would really suck if you were in the water.
I’ve been diving in water this cold. Even with a wet suit it sucks the strength right out of you. two hours were enough for me and I had a wet suit.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.