Nick Schuyler Found Clinging to Boat off Florida, as they Search for Corey Smith, Marquis Cooper and William Bleakley on Fishing Expedition

Corey Smith, left, and Marquis Cooper are two of the men missing in Florida.

The news about the whereabouts of NFL players Corey Smith and Marquis Cooper, as well as the two other friends who went with them on a fishing expedition, may not good be good, at least for three of them. According to the Coast Guard, it has found an overturned boat with University of South Florida football player Nick Schuyler clinging to it in waters where authorities have been searching for four missing boaters. According to Coast Guard Petty Officer Harless, it does not know whether the boat it found is the one it has been searching for. But there is a good chance that they found the missing boat. The identity and condition of the person found with the boat was not known, Harless said.

Marquis Cooper is reportedly an avid-fisherman, so they must have been hampered by the bad weather more than anything else. According to CNN, the search, which began early Sunday, now involves three Coast Guard cutters, three C-130 Hercules airplanes and three helicopters combing 16,000 square miles of open water in the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 miles west of Clearwater Pass, according to a Coast Guard statement. The search area Sunday was just 750 square miles. The Air Force Reserve’s 920th Rescue Wing, based at Florida’s Tyndall Air Force Base, sent a C-130 airplane and a HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter to join the effort Monday, the Air Force said.

I know that it is hard on the family as they await news of their loved-ones’ plight. I pray that they will find all four men, but the longer the search goes, the likelihood that the outcome will not be good. As a Christian, I have to be optimistic, knowing that God is always in the midst of every trial and miracles can happen. I pray for the families of the four men. I am hopeful that the rescued man can tell the authorities exactly what happened once he regains his strength, assuming he was one of the four on the boat. In the mean time, if you have any information, please do not hesitate to contact the Coast Guard at 727-824-7506.

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Filed under: Coast Guard Petty Officer Harless, Corey Smith, Fishing Expedition, Marquis Cooper, Missing Boat, NFL