That was what I heard initially too. There’s an interview with Blakely’s father, he spoke to Schuyler by phone from the hospital. He told him that Blakely died with him, which gave his father some comfort.
Apparently it was Blakely who swam under the boat, got 3 life preservers and a cushion, Blakely wound up with the cushion initially. The story keeps changing a little bit each time.
Also, it seems Schuyler was aware enough to initially tell the Coast Guard about the 2 NFL guys drifting off after 2-4 hours. The CG also knew that Schuyler was suffering from hypothermia and might not have his hours and perception straight so they left no stone unturned and kept searching for the missing men. Not sure what he told the CG and what was relayed to the family about the fate of Blakely, but likely they were told early about his death because they were the first family to say that they don’t think the men were to be found and were making funeral arrangements for their son early on. The interviews I saw with the families said that the CG told them not to tell everything because you can’t be sure what’s totally accurate from someone suffering from hypothermia like Schuyler.
We’ll probably get the whole story fairly soon from Schuyler. I hope he’s getting proper psychiatric care, these kind of things leave scars on the survivors sometimes.
Thanks.