Abandoned vessel found 70 miles offshore in search for missing Florida boaters

Photos courtesy of the Lee County Sheriff’s Office

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FORT MYERS, Fla. (WFLA) — The U.S. Coast Guard said crews are searching for two missing men who were supposed to have returned to land in Fort Myers Friday night.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said Randall Spivey, 57, and Brandon Billmaier, 33, left early Friday morning for a fishing trip from a residential dock on Intracoastal Court in Fort Myers.

Spivey is 6 feet 1 inch, around 245 pounds, has brown hair and brown eyes, and was last seen wearing khaki pants and a dark-colored shirt.

Billmaier is 6 feet 2 inches, around 250 pounds, has strawberry-colored hair and brown eyes.

At around 10:15 a.m. on Saturday, the USCG in St. Petersburg announced that crews located their empty 42-foot vessel around 70 miles off the coast of Fort Myers.

U.S. Coast Guard

USCG said several agencies are assisting in the search, which has included both air and surface crews, but the St. Petersburg sector is leading the efforts.

Anyone with information about the missing men is asked to call the USCG St. Petersburg sector at 866-881-1392.

Southeast

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