Air Force Reserve Joins Search For 3 Missing Florida Boaters

Clearwater Pass, FL (AHN) - Air Force Reserve rescue crews on Tuesday joined the search for three boaters, including two NFL players, who went missing in the Gulf of Mexico after their 21-foot boat capsized during a fishing trip Saturday.

One of the boaters was found clinging to the propeller of the overturned boat Monday afternoon. Former University of South Florida football player Nick Schuyler, who was wearing his life jacket, was rescued by the Coast Guard and was taken to a hospital to be treated for hypothermia.

Schuyler told his rescuers that he had last seen his three friends at about 2 a.m. Monday morning. He said that they were also wearing their life vests and that they had all been clinging to the boat before they became separated.

The boat and Schuyler were found 39 miles west of Egmont Key.

Based on that location and the time the missing boaters were last seen, the Coast Guard narrowed its search to a 16,000 square mile area.

Helping in that search are the Air Force Reserve rescue crews from the 920th Rescue Wing. They will use two March 2 aircraft, a HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter and an HC-130P/N extended range refueling aircraft to conduct a systematic search of the ocean within that 16,000 square mile area.

Rescuers are looking for Marquis Cooper, an Oakland Raiders linebacker, Corey Smith, an NFL free agent who played for the Detroit Lions for the past three seasons and William Bleakley, a former University of South Florida football player.