COAST GUARD SEARCHING FOR THREE MISSING BOATERS

DATE: April 6, 2008 9:55:07 AM EDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DHS USCG Banner

News Release

Date: April 6, 2008

Contact: PA3 Robert Simpson
(305) 965-4672

Coast Guard Searching For Three Missing Boaters

TAMPA, Fla. – The Coast Guard is searching for three boaters after an unmanned, adrift 37-foot boat was discovered with apparent fire damage at about 9 p.m. Saturday, about one mile south of MacDill Air Force Base, in Tampa, Fla.

Rescue coordinators at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg, Fla., received a distress call at about 8:30 p.m. Saturday, from a Spanish-speaking boater requesting assistance. The Coast Guard immediately launched a 25-foot rescue boat crew from Station St. Petersburg, and an HH-60 rescue helicopter crew from Air Station Clearwater, Fla. The Coast Guard crews located the vessel with no one aboard.

Rescue crews from the Pinellas and Hillsborough County Sheriffs Offices, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Tampa Police Department and MacDill Air Force Base security are also aiding in the search.

The names of the boaters are being withheld pending next-of-kin notification.

Please check http://www.d7publicaffairs.com/ for updates.

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