NFL players aboard fishing boat Missing...UPDATE

[Betallsports]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) -- Two NFL players are among a group of boaters reported missing off Florida's Gulf Coast.
Sports agent Ron Del Duca said his client, Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith, and Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper were two of the four boaters who were reported missing Sunday morning by the Coast Guard.
The Coast Guard issued a statement saying the boaters were on a 21-foot vessel that left Clearwater Pass on Saturday morning for a fishing trip and did not return as expected. Crews used a helicopter and a 47-foot motor-life boat to search a 750-square mile area west of Clearwater Pass on Sunday. According to the ABC Action News of Tampa, Gulf waters are choppy, and the boat is believed to be in distress.

 

[Betallsports]

Coast Guard searching for missing NFL players

Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith and Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper were among four boaters missing Sunday off Florida's Gulf Coast, the Coast Guard and Smith's agent said.


Smith and Cooper were on a 21-foot vessel that left Clearwater Pass on Saturday morning for a fishing trip and did not return as expected, the Coast Guard said Sunday. Crews used a helicopter and a 47-foot motor-life boat to search a 750-square mile area west of Clearwater Pass on Sunday.
Smith owned the boat and he and Cooper had been on fishing trips before, said Ron Del Duca, Smith's agent. The pair had been teammates on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004.
Smith, 29, had 30 tackles, including three sacks, and an interception in 12 games last season for the winless Lions. Smith, who is 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, also played for the San Francisco 49ers and played college ball at North Carolina State.
Del Duca called Smith one of the "good guys" of the league and was planning to start visiting teams as a free agent this week. He said he has spoken with Smith's family and is also in touch with Coast Guard officials.
"They've assured me that they're deploying all available resources to look for these guys and get them back," he said.
Cooper, 26, has played sparingly in five seasons with the Buccaneers, Seahawks, Jaguars, Steelers and Raiders. Cooper, who is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, played college ball at Washington.
Rick Davis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tampa, said seas were about 2 to 4 feet Saturday morning and increased to 3 to 5 feet in the afternoon. Late Saturday night, a small craft advisory was issued, when winds were around 20 knots and seas were up to 7 feet or more. There were no thunderstorms in the area.
Davis said the water was "extremely rough and choppy" on Sunday afternoon.
Lions spokesman Bill Keenist said he had heard Smith was aboard a missing boat but hadn't been able to confirm it. "We're aware of the media reports," Keenist said Sunday afternoon. "We're trying to find out what we can."

 

[Wrigley]

hope this has a good ending but the more time passes the worst can be expected

 

[ZJP6050]

wow...this is horrible

 

[bucsfan67]

scary news.....all from just trying to have a nice harmless day of fishing...this isnt like they were running drugs or anything, just going fishing off the coast

 

[mr21]

hope everything turns out OK - thoughts and prayers

 

[MikeB]

Re: NFL players aboard fishing boat Missing

Anybody have an update?


I can't find any info.

 

[Betallsports]

Re: NFL players aboard fishing boat Missing

Anybody have an update?


I can't find any info.

This is the only thing I could find, which was added to the above Story


Stu Schuyler, Nick's father, said his son had gone fishing with the same group of friends last weekend, apparently en route to a shipwreck about 50 miles offshore where fish are abundant. He said he left his son a message on his cell phone Saturday morning, asking him not to stay out too late because of the approaching storm.
"I'm optimistic," Schuyler said. "But I'm also realistic."
Lions spokesman Bill Keenist and Raiders senior executive John Hererra said the teams are monitoring reports. Both teams issued statements saying their thoughts and prayers are with the families of all the missing men and those involved in the search.
While the search continued, Cooper's pickup truck and boat trailer remained in the parking lot near the boat launch. On the dashboard was a one-day parking receipt that expired Sunday morning. "Please contact the Coast Guard," a note left tucked underneath a windshield wiper read. "Someone was worried about your welfare."

 

[pubguy]

Re: NFL players aboard fishing boat Missing

Not sounding good.

 

[steaktartar]

Re: NFL players aboard fishing boat Missing

wow sad no good

 

[nhoj]

Re: NFL players aboard fishing boat Missing

Alot of sharks in those waters.

 

[G$$]

Re: NFL players aboard fishing boat Missing

next time i go out in a boat bringing a satellite phone gps tracker, radio, something

 

[pubguy]

An EPIRB is mandatory on my boat when I go that far offshore. They may have cruised out to 50 miles at forty knts, but coming back into increasing seas would be very slow.

 

[Betallsports]

Coast Guard Says Search Not Called Off

Usually, we hate being wrong. In this case, we're happy about it.
Contrary to our report that authorities had given up trying to find a fishing boat carrying two NFL players and two other men, WSTP in Tampa reports that the Coast Guard has not yet called off the search.

Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and Lions defensive end Corey Smith are on the boat, along with Nick Skyler and William Bleakley.
Given the conditions, the 87-foot boats that were being used have been replaced by 110-foot vessels. The Air Force also is now involved.
That said, the process continues to be a challenge, with winds gusting to 30 miles per hour and 14-foot waves.

 

[Fishhead]

Alot of sharks in those waters.

Way down on their list of worries,,,,,,,,,,if they are indeed still alive, which I highly doubt at this time.

SAD

 

[pubguy]

14 footers now? they are toast. RIP.

 

[MikeB]

Something tells me that "big, strong NFL players" were not wearing life-jackets. ..................unfortunately.

 

[RobFunk]

That ship is sunk and life jacket or not sadly they probably are too

I doubt the Airforce or whoever will find any trace of these men

 

[Betallsports]

Coast Guard Reports that they Found the Boat.

1 of 4 Found

 

[Betallsports]

Source: Schuyler clinging to boat

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- The Coast Guard says it has found a person clinging to an overturned boat off Florida's Gulf Coast, but could not immediately confirm whether it is the same boat carrying NFL players Corey Smith, Marquis Cooper and two other men.
A source close to the situation, who spoke with ESPN.com's Bill Williamson, said the Coast Guard has secured Nick Schuyler, who was the person clinging to the boat. The search continues for the other people on board.
The Coast Guard has been searching for the four men since they were reported missing early Sunday morning. As of Monday morning, they had searched 16,000 square miles off Florida's Gulf Coast.
Petty Officer Sondra-Kay Kneen said they have located a vessel Monday and "a person on that vessel."
No further details were provided.
Cooper is an Oakland Raiders linebacker. Smith is a Detroit Lions free-agent defensive end. William Bleakley and Schuyler, the other men on board, are both former University of South Florida players.