Captain went missing after boat sank, Florida cops say. Divers find his body on board
UPDATE: On Dec. 18, Florida officers said divers found a body in the sunken boat, which had spilled fuel. The Tampa Police Department in a news release confirmed that the person found dead after a search of the water was missing captain Curtis Lee Cowling.
Police said there’s no evidence of foul play in Cowling’s death.
“Although our Dive Team members, joined by multiple agencies, all worked tirelessly in their efforts, we now share in the sorrow of this tragic outcome,” Chief Lee Bercaw said in a written statement.
Police in an earlier update said the U.S. Coast Guard continued to clean up the spill, which was “successfully contained to the (McKay) Bay area.”
The original story is below.
A captain is missing after his sunken shrimp boat leaked thousands of gallons of fuel off the west coast of Florida, officials said.
The Tampa Police Department said it’s searching for Curtis Lee Cowling, who lives on the boat but was nowhere to be found after it went underwater.
“Although it is believed that Cowling lives on the boat full time, it is unknown if he was on the boat when it submerged,” officers wrote in a Dec. 17 news release.
Spilled fuel from Cowling’s sunken boat — a 63-foot vessel called Miss Jordi — was found in the water off the Tampa Shrimp Docks. As of Dec. 17, crews were working to clean up the mess, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The pollution was found as Coast Guard crews in the St. Petersburg area received “more than 20 reports of displaced vessels during this weekend’s coastal storm.” The National Weather Service had warned severe weather could bring the risks of strong winds and tornadoes.
After Cowling’s boat went down, he was listed as “missing and endangered.” He was last seen late Dec. 16.
“I just brought him to the grocery store,” Logan Lirette, a shrimp dock worker, told WFLA on Dec. 17. “About 8:30, 9 o’clock last night. Dropped him off and he went back to his boat.”
People with information about Cowling’s disappearance are asked to call police at 813-231-6130.
As the search continues, the Coast Guard said “the cause of the sinking is under investigation.” People are urged to stay away from the polluted area while the cleanup is underway.
This story was originally published December 18, 2023 at 7:02 AM with the headline "Captain went missing after boat sank, Florida cops say. Divers find his body on board."
