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Boat found off Fla.; unsure if NFL players aboard
2009-03-02
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The Coast Guard says a missing boater has been found clinging to an overturned boat that belongs to Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper. The Coast Guard says former University of South Florida player Nick Schuyler was rescued Monday off the coast of Florida. The Coast Guard says Cooper, Detroit Lions free agent Corey Smith and another former USF player, William Bleakley, remain missing. TV footage shows Schuyler being helped from a Coast Guard helicopter at Tampa General Hospital. He appeared conscious and talking. The Coast Guard had been searching for the four men since they were reported missing early Sunday morning, one day after they left on a fishing trip. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- The Coast Guard found a person clinging to an overturned boat off Florida's Gulf Coast on Monday, but could not immediately confirm whether it is the same boat with two NFL players aboard that went missing over the weekend. Corey Smith, a free-agent defensive end who played for the Detroit Lions last season, and Marquis Cooper, an Oakland Raiders linebacker, as well as former University of South Florida players Will Bleakley and Nick Schuyler left on a fishing trip early Saturday. Weather conditions worsened through the day and the men did not return as expected in the evening. The men were reported missing Sunday, and the Coast Guard had searched about 16,000 square miles of ocean for the 21-foot Everglades-manufactured boat by Monday morning. Everglades boats are built with compressed foam encased in Fiberglas, which makes them difficult or impossible to sink. Petty Officer Sondra-Kay Kneen confirmed searchers located a boat. No further details were available. Waves had subsided to 6 to 8 feet, still enough for a small craft advisory, but considerably smaller than the 15-foot waves Sunday, National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Barron said. Family members believed the men had lifejackets and flares on board. The Coast Guard had not received a distress signal from the men. Cooper owns the boat, and he and Smith, who were teammates with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004, have been on fishing trips before, according to Ron Del Duca, Smith's agent. Coast Guard Capt. Timothy M. Close said at least one of the men was an experienced boater, and relatives provided the Coast Guard with GPS coordinates from previous fishing expeditions. The 29-year-old Smith of Richmond, Va., is 6-foot-2, 250 pounds and had 30 tackles, including three sacks, and an interception in 12 games last season for the winless Lions. Cooper, 26, who is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, has spent five seasons with five different teams, appearing in 26 games with the Buccaneers in 2004 and 2005, but playing sparingly since. He grew up in Gilbert, Ariz., and his father Bruce is a prominent sportscaster for KPNX-TV in Phoenix.
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