Coast Guard searching for 9 boaters in Florida

opme

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Boaters reported their boat was sinking three miles off Atlantic Coast

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Updated: 48 minutes ago
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BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. - The U.S. Coast Guard sent out boats and helicopters early Monday to search for nine people who reported their boat was sinking about three miles off the Atlantic Coast.

The Coast Guard said it received a call late Sunday from a passenger on the 33-foot powerboat who said all five adults and four children on board had put on life jackets. The man said his wife had broken her leg and was bleeding.

The man maintained contact with a handheld radio after the boat went down, but the signal went dead after about an hour, officials said.

“We know they put on their lifejackets. We know they’re approximately three miles out, but we don’t have much information after that,” Petty Officer Dana Warr said Monday

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13119208/
More at link.....

I am praying for a miracle for these folks.. with the storm coming conditions must be getting worse.. especially for a search and rescue. One can only hope that their guardian angels are watching out for them, especially thee children.
 
How scarey!!!! I hope they are found safe!!
 
I hope they are found soon! What a horrible situation. Sounds like the wife may have a compound fracture which needs immediate attention which makes this even more desparate.
 
http://www.d7publicaffairs.com/

Still no sign of these boaters. The district 7 Coast Guard site has some links including audio of the distress call. They are looking to the public to provide any additional information about the people on this boat.

I hope they find them soon.
 
What could have happened to them? I hope they are found safe....and soon.
 
http://www.forbes.com/business/feeds/ap/2006/06/12/ap2810675.html

Now they are saying they suspect it is a hoax. Some hoax. :(

A distress call from nine people aboard a boat sinking in the Atlantic Ocean might have been a hoax, the Coast Guard said Monday.

"There are some elements that just don't add up," Lt. Cmdr. Chris O'Neil said. "If you listen to that tape, the voice of that person doesn't sound like he's particularly stressed."

The Coast Guard began searching the coastal waters after receiving the radio distress call late Sunday from a man who said their 33-foot powerboat called Blue Sheep was sinking.

"My lights are flickering on my radio. I'm taking on water. What do you want me to do?" the man calmly asked, according to a recording of the call released Monday afternoon.

"The whole back of the boat is submerged," the man said. "We have nine people on board. Everybody's in life jackets."

The man said the passengers included four children. He said the boat was named Blue Sheep, and he identified himself and his wife as John and Carol Tobin. He added that his wife had broken her leg and was bleeding profusely.

No record of a boat named Blue Sheep was found in Florida or elsewhere, and the identifications of the couple didn't check out, the Coast Guard said.

The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said a couple by that name once lived near Fort Lauderdale, but have since moved to New Jersey where they were found safe on Monday and had not been on any boat in Florida.

A piece of wreckage was found Monday on a beach a few miles away, but no other trace of a vessel had turned up.

"There have been no other debris sightings," O'Neil said. "There's any number of things that are going to float on the surface, coolers, seat cushions. ... I find it unusual that we haven't found any signs of wreckage."

...more at link
 
From my years in Florida, having grown up there in Miami and returning for 20 years before moving to Colorado, I have been on and near the ocean numerous times. I had a close friend with a 28 foot Morgan and sailed just about every weekend. We often went up the Intercoastal to Ft. Lauderdale, ate at a resturant, then sailed back off shore to Miami. I know that the gulfstream is about 3 miles off shore. The current is about 4 mph drifting you north. I'm sure the Coast Guard is aware of this and searched northward of the site reported. Three miles isn't that far off shore and I would suspect that one or more "survivor" could have reached shore, especially in a life jacket. I was suspicious of this almost from the beginning.

We never went without a first aid kit, radio and especially flares. If indeed it is a hoax, I hope they catch whoever it is and prosecute for repayment of the cost of the search.
 
It should never have happened but since it did I'm glad it was a hoax. Thinking about four children in life jacktes bobbing around the ocean with a mum bleeding and attracting sharks was an auwful thought. :(

The jerk who made that call deserves a few hours bobbing around the ocean himself. :slap:



Jubie
 
jubie said:
The jerk who made that call deserves a few hours bobbing around the ocean himself. :slap:
Jubie
I'm sure there are a few folks in the area who would gladly chum the water:crazy:

I never usually have these kind of catty thoughts but for some reason I read your comment at just that moment where I found it particularly funny.
 
http://www.d7publicaffairs.com/

The coast guard has officially called of the search but they are not officially calling it a hoax. They are officially saying the "suspect" it is a hoax but I think they wouldn't all out proclaim it as such right away.

They are issuing information in the Florida area to appeal to the public to help identify the voice and also anybody who may recognize the names, last name Tobin, to come forward.
 
The search cost $278,000. http://tinyurl.com/oro6g

If found, the hoaxer is responsible for the cost of the search and can face a $250,000 civil fine and a $5,000 criminal penalty plus ten years in prison.

The man had a strong signal into the Coast Guard receiver so he could not have been located too far away, probably within 10 miles. I do not know if the USCG uses radio direction finding equipment but if they don't, they should. With two RDF stations they could get a very close position on the source of the transmissions.
 
Gmommy said:
http://www.d7publicaffairs.com/

The coast guard has officially called of the search but they are not officially calling it a hoax. They are officially saying the "suspect" it is a hoax but I think they wouldn't all out proclaim it as such right away.

They are issuing information in the Florida area to appeal to the public to help identify the voice and also anybody who may recognize the names, last name Tobin, to come forward.
Thanks for the update Gmommy. I really do hope this is a hoax and there aren't people out there......I hope they make an example of whoever did this if they can figure out it. This is just a horrible thing to do, horrible.
 
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/F/FL_MISSING_BOATERS_FLOL-?SITE=FLTAM&SECTION=US

MIAMI (AP) -- A man accused of making a phony distress call to the U.S. Coast Guard has pleaded not guilty to charges against him.

Robert Moran, 45, appeared Wednesday in U.S. District Court, where his bail was set at $100,000.

Moran has been charged with making a fake emergency call, allegedly saying that a boat he was aboard was sinking north of the Boynton Beach Inlet. The search for the nine people the caller said were aboard involved helicopters, an airplane and several boats. >>>>>>>
--------------------------------
Prosecutors said an anonymous tipster called the Coast Guard after hearing a portion of the distress call that was released to the media and recognizing the voice as Moran's.
 

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