CG Rescues One of Four Missing Boaters

CG Rescues One of Four Missing Boaters
March 02, 2009
Associated Press

TAMPA, Fla. - A missing boater found clinging to an overturned boat was rescued Monday off Florida's Gulf Coast, but the search continued for two NFL players and another man aboard who didn't return from a weekend fishing trip.

Survivor Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida player, told rescuers that the 21-foot boat was anchored when it flipped Saturday evening in rough seas and that the others got separated from the boat, Capt. Timothy M. Close said. Schuyler, who was wearing a life vest, had been clinging to the boat since then.

The boat belongs to Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, who along with free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley, remained missing.

Television footage showed Schuyler conscious but weak as he was being taken off a helicopter at Tampa General Hospital and placed on a stretcher. The hospital declined immediate comment.

Close said the Coast Guard would search for the three missing men for "quite awhile."


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