Coast Guard suspends search for missing snorkeler

HOMOSASSA, Fla. — The Coast Guard suspended its active search approximately 9:30 p.m. Sunday for a missing 37-year-old male who disappeared while snorkeling in the Homosassa River in Homosassa, Sunday.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Yankeetown, Fla., received a report at about 12 p.m. Sunday from a 20-foot pontoon boat that Vu Ngu, of Riverview, Fla., had gone missing while diving for scallops in the vicinity of Marker 10 in the Homosassa River.

Crewmembers aboard the boat reported that he had gone down in approximately five feet of water and did not resurface after being underwater for 10-15 minutes.

Ngu was last seen wearing khaki shorts and no shirt, lifejacket or fins.

Rescue crews searched for approximately 10 hours covering approximately 53 square nautical miles.

Searching were:

Coast Guard Station Yankeetown 25-foot response boat crew
Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla., MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter rescue crew
Coast Guard Auxiliary boat crew
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission members
Multiple Citrus County Sheriffs Office dive teams

FWCC is investigating the incident.

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