Search Called off for Missing NFL Players

2009-03-04 04:16:32 (GMT) (WiredPRNews.com - News, Sports)

The search ends for NFL players lost off the Gulf Coast.

Wired PR News.com – The search for three individuals, including two players of the NFL, whose boat capsized off the Florida Gulf Coast, has been called off. As reported by the Associated Press (AP), the Coast Guard ended their search on Tuesday for Oakland Raiders player Marquis Cooper, Corey Smith, who played with the Detroit Lions, and William Bleakley. The individuals have been missing since Saturday after failing to return from a fishing trip. A fourth person on the boat, Nick Schuyler, was found alive and rescued early this week.

As noted in the report, Bleakley is said to have swam to retrieve life jackets and a cushion for the group. However, the strength of the waves caused three of them to eventually become separated from the boat. A friend of Schuyler and Bleakley, Scott Miller, is quoted as stating of Schuyler, “He said basically that Will helped him keep going… The waves were just so much. They never got a break.”

Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close is quoted as stating, “I think the families understood that we put in a tremendous effort… Any search and rescue case we have to stop is disappointing.”