Coast Guard searching for 2 NFL players

[unhappycamper]

Pro football players Corey Smith, left, a defensive end for the Detroit Lions, and Marquis Cooper, a linebacker for the Oakland Raiders, are the subject of a Coast Guard search in Gulf of Mexico waters off Florida.


Coast Guard searching for 2 NFL players
By Christine Armario - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Mar 1, 2009 18:06:56 EST

CLEARWATER, Fla. — The Coast Guard was searching off Florida’s Gulf Coast on Sunday for a fishing boat carrying NFL players Corey Smith and Marquis Cooper and two other men missing nearly a day in choppy seas.

Smith and Cooper were on a 21-foot vessel that left Clearwater Pass for a fishing trip Saturday morning and did not return as expected, the Coast Guard said Sunday. Crews used a helicopter and a 47-foot boat to search a 750-square mile area west of Clearwater Pass, but poor weather made the search difficult. Officials did not receive a distress signal from the missing craft.

Cooper owns the boat and he and Smith have been on fishing trips before, said Ron Del Duca, Smith’s agent. The pair had been teammates on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004. Two others were aboard: Will Bleakley and Nick Schuyler, both former University of South Florida players.

Coast Guard Capt. Timothy M. Close said the weather early Saturday had been fair, but worsened toward the evening as a front still battering the area moved in. The National Weather Service said seas were about 2 to 4 feet Saturday morning and increased to 3 to 5 feet in the afternoon. Late Saturday night, a small craft advisory was issued, when winds were around 20 knots and seas were up to 7 feet or more. There were no thunderstorms in the area.

Close said the men were traveling in a boat manufactured by Everglades. At least one of the men was an experienced boater, and relatives provided the Coast Guard with GPS coordinates from previous fishing expeditions.


Rest of article at: http://navytimes.com/news/2009/03/ap_coastguard_missing_nfl_players_030109/%2e