The Search Continues for Missing Boat

Despite reports that the search for the missing boat in the Gulf of Mexico was called off last night, we awoke this morning to a story in The Tampa Tribune, saying just the opposite.

The original area being searched Sunday, about 750 square miles west of Clearwater, "has about tripled," Coast Guard Petty Officer Sondra Kneen said this morning. "We are continuing to search," she said.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers are expected to join the search of inshore waters today.

Coast Guard Capt. Timothy M. Close said there was no communication with the men even before the weather started to pick up and no SOS call was received.
"That's not to say they didn't send one out," he said. "We didn't receive anything."

The Coast Guard said at a news conference Sunday that it intended to search overnight for the missing boaters. There was no determination of how long searchers will continue looking.

Information from reporter Neil Johnson and The Associated Press was used in this report.