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Coast Guard suspends search
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Members of missing fisherman Corey Smith's
family embrace after being told the search
for the three missing fishermen will be
suspended. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
The U. S. Coast Guard announced that as of sunset Tuesday, they’re calling off the search for three boaters still missing in the Gulf of Mexico. The men, former Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith, Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and former University of South Florida football player Will Bleakley have been missing since Cooper’s boat apparently capsized in rough seas during a fishing trip on Saturday.
"We're extremely confident that if there are any survivors on the surface of the water that we would have found them," said Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close during a Tuesday afternoon press conference. He also says a cooler and a life jacket have been recovered near each other about 16 miles southeast of where the overturned boat and survivor Nick Schuyler was found on Monday.
Robert Bleakley, father of missing man Will Bleakley says he appreciates the efforts of the Coast Guard in looking for his son.
"I think they did everything that they could," he said. "I think they were not to be found."
In all the Coast Guard searched an area equivalent of 24,000 square miles in the 60 hours since the men were reported missing.
"I think the families understood that we put in a tremendous effort," Close said. "Any search and rescue case we have to stop is disappointing."
Families of the missing men left the Coast Guard station without talking to the media after the announcement to stop the search was made.
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