The search for two missing Florida fishermen intensified Monday, three days after the U.S. Coast Guard found their boat drifting in the Gulf roughly 70 miles offshore from Fort Myers. Officials said the boat was in gear and still running when they located it Saturday morning. They believe the two fishermen, Randall Spivey and his nephew Brandon Billmaier, were wearing life jackets.
“My dad and my cousin are still missing and we are not giving up,” Spivey’s son, Randy, wrote in a Facebook post Sunday. “Based on our search of the boat, we believe they have flotation devices and are waiting to be found. Every hour matters. We need to bring them home.”
Randy told reporters Monday morning that dozens of volunteers had joined the search effort in their own boats and private planes. The Cajun Navy also sent aircraft from Louisiana, and they were scheduled to be in the area by 11 a.m., according to WINK News.
Although the search is being led by the USCG one of Spivey’s best friends, Paul Rocuant, is spearheading the effort to recruit volunteers. He called it one of the largest coordinated search efforts in Florida history in an update he posted to Facebook Monday.
“On behalf of the family, thank you for your continued support, willingness to help, and prayers,” Roucant wrote. “Your assistance truly matters.”
Family members first reported Spivey, 57, and Billmaier, 33, missing on Friday evening. The two fishermen were aboard Spivey’s 42-foot Freeman catamaran. They’d left from a private dock in Iona that morning and were supposed to return by sundown. Spivey’s son, Randy, said his father is a highly experienced boater, and that he and Billmaier have been deep-sea fishing since they were kids.
The search is still centered around the location where the unmanned boat was found drifting Saturday morning, and officials emphasized that their efforts are still considered a search-and-rescue operation. Anyone interested in volunteering is asked to send a text message to Roucant at (239)634-3400 with the following information:
- Departure port
- Vessel name
- Captain and first mate names and cell numbers
- Vessel range