Coast Guard suspends search for four missing fishermen off Florida's Gulf Coast
The United States Coast Guard has suspended the search for four missing boaters who left for a day of fishing off Florida's Gulf Coast on Saturday morning and never returned home.
The fishermen, Angel Hernandez Munoz, 38; Ruben Mora Sr., 54; Julio Cesar Cordero Briones, 37; and Alfonso Vargas Parra, 35, left at 8 a.m. Saturday for a boat trip from Venice, Florida, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Sarasota, This is evident from a press release from the Venice police.
The water was “not too rough” that morning, said Capt. Andy Leisenring of the Venice Police Department He said this at a press conference on Monday. However, by afternoon, weather conditions had deteriorated and heavy fog swept over the area, he said.
“Overnight and Sunday the winds increased, the seas increased, of course it rained most of that time,” Captain Leisenring said, noting that weather conditions remained rough on Monday. “It's not very safe to be there for a small ship,” he said.
According to a police news release, the men left aboard a white 24-foot 1995 SportCraft boat. It was unclear what, if any, safety and emergency equipment was on board.
Captain Leisenring said authorities were told the men were experienced fishermen but that they had not left behind a float plan, a detailed outline of a boat trip.
“They didn't tell the family members exactly where they were going, and that's hampering our search efforts a little bit,” he said. “We have to estimate a starting point and adjust the search from there.”
By Sunday, the U.S. Coast Guard and multiple local law enforcement agencies had joined forces to search for the men by sea and air. By Monday, the search had covered more than 1,600 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico, police said.
The US Coast Guard said on social media Late Monday, less than 48 hours after the investigation began, it announced it had suspended the search for the men pending new information.
The U.S. Coast Guard and a Venice police detective investigating the case did not respond Tuesday to requests for more information about the decision.
Ruben Mora Jr., Mr. Mora's son, He said this at a press conference on Monday that he planned to meet his father, who has diabetes and high blood pressure, after fishing on Saturday but didn't hear from him.
“My father lives for the water; he lives for the ocean,” said Ruben Mora Jr. 'We're trying to get him home as quickly as possible. I can't imagine what he's going through or what his friends are going through. I just want him back here.”