Details of missing players paint horrifying scene

Details of missing players paint horrifying scene

<!-- // Writer Attribution// --><!-- Meta Tag For Search --><!-- meta name="author" content=""--><!-- meta name="source" content="Associated Press"--><!-- meta name="eventId" content=""--><!-- meta name="contentTypeCode" content="1"--><!-- meta name="editorContentCode" content="1"--><!-- meta name="blurb" content="Records from the search for two missing NFL players and two friends paint a bleak picture of what happened after their boat overturned off Tampa, Fla.According to documents obtained by The Associated Press, lone survivor Nick Schuyler (SKY-ler) told the Coast Guard one man "freaked out" and took off his life vest Feb. 28, the night the boat capsized.Later that night, another became unruly and threw punches. He took off his life vest, dove down and never resurfaced."--><!-- meta name="modDate" content="March 16, 2009 23:38:30 GMT"-->Associated Press


TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Two NFL players may have died just a few hours after the fishing boat they were in overturned in rough water, possibly before rescuers were even alerted that they and two others were lost off the west coast of Florida, according to Coast Guard records of the boating accident.


In a 23-page report provided to The Associated Press Monday under a Freedom of Information Act request, the Coast Guard documents two conversations it had with Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida player who was the lone survivor.
Schuyler told them that one by one, the other men took off their life vests and disappeared during the ordeal.
The report says the group went roughly 70 miles - or 62 nautical miles - to fish for amberjack on Feb. 28. Also onboard the 21-foot Everglades boat were Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played for the Detroit Lions last season, and former University of South Florida player William Bleakley.
The men's names were redacted in the report.
Around 5:30 p.m., the report said the group ran into trouble: Their anchor was stuck. Schuyler told investigators that he believed it was caught in a coral reef. They tried to free it, but water filled the boat and it capsized.
Tossed into the frigid water, the men managed to grab their life vests. Schuyler said they held on to the boat for four hours. But as the night wore on, their will to survive appears to have weakened and the effects of hypothermia were likely setting in.
Schuyler told the Coast Guard that one of the men "freaked out" and took off his life vest and disappeared that night.
Another one of the men started getting unruly and throwing punches later. Schuyler told the Coast Guard the second man also took off his life jacket, dove under the water and was never seen again. The third man thought he saw land nearly two days after the boat capsized and decided to swim for it.
Schuyler told the Coast Guard that man said his life jacket was too tight and he took it off.
Officials have said that they eventually found three life jackets; one on Schuyler; another near the boat and a third underneath it. The bodies of the three who disappeared have not been found.
It's unclear how accurate the account is. Schuyler, who was found clinging to the overturned boat about 35 miles off Clearwater and nearly 48 hours after the accident, was suffering from hypothermia and he has provided different accounts to the men's relatives. The family of William Bleakley, for example, said Schuyler told them that their son held on to the boat with his college teammate until he weakened and died. Schuyler has also said that Bleakley helped him survive, talking to him and encouraging him during their last night together.
Marquis Cooper's father has questioned Schuyler's account that his son removed his life jacket. Schuyler has not responded to interview requests.
As the men struggled in the water, their relatives grew worried. The group was expected home around sunset. One of the men's family contacted the Coast Guard around 1:30 a.m. on March 1 and a search began. The Coast Guard records document their repeated attempts - and frustrations - as they attempted tried to find the small white boat in a stormy sea with heavy cloud cover and whitecaps making it tough to spot the vessel.


Initial information the Guard received indicated the men were en route to a dive wreck about 58 miles - roughly 50 nautical miles - from Clearwater Pass, Fla.
One person who called the Coast Guard reported that one of the men, presumably Cooper, had one week left before he was expected in California for football practice. The caller, whose name was redacted from the report, said the group "could have possibly tried to go farther out to fish."
One of the men's wives was able to find a handheld GPS device that he had left at home and had apparently used in previous trips to record the coordinates of favorite fishing spots. The Coast Guard used that data to refine their search, placing the likely location of the men about 10 nautical miles south of their expected destination.
The Coast Guard contacted the men's cell phone companies for help tracking their whereabouts, without success. They also sent them text messages, stating that, "the CG is looking for you request you to contact us immediately."
"Being that these guys are inexperienced, don't look just at 50 NM offshore, there might be a possibility that they wisened up and stayed close to shore, at least within visual of land," a Coast Guard officer wrote in one e-mail.
The same e-mail added that, "It might be worth considering getting the story out to media earlier than later more people on the lookout both on land and water."
During the search, the Coast Guard reported 14-foot seas offshore and wind gusts up to 30 mph.
The newly released records reveal how the conditions hindered their mission. In one early search, rescuers were only able to cover 40 percent of their search area because of a storm front that moved in.
In another entry, a pilot's search was described as "ineffective, unable to see anything with current weather conditions during nighttime search, completely dark due to cloud cover."
One aircraft had an engine problem and never got out. A second aircraft was used but had problems with its radar during the first leg of the search; an alternative device proved useless in the poor weather.
More than 24 hours after starting their search, however, a sign of hope finally emerged.
The Coast Guard cutter Tornado spotted Schuyler, looking small in the vast ocean and clinging to the boat's hull. At Tampa General Hospital, Schuyler's doctor called it a "miracle" that he survived in the 63-degree Gulf water for nearly two days, and said he probably could have lived only another five to 10 hours.


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I Can't even Believe some of the stuff in this Story ! hno:

His story(the dude that survived) keeps changing. Were they out running some dope or is he just misremembering things due to hypothermia?

His 3 friends are dead, doubtful he would shed a bad light on any of the men(if they did in fact "flip out") after having time to recover and think about what to say. I would think the most accurate description of what truly happened was given to the rescuers and to those closest to him.

This Differs From The Original Account

In that one. "Blakely heroicly dove under the boat to retrieve the life jackets and a cushion? Also at first they were only 35 mi. out.

I wouldn't doubt his story. He made public statements that were positive about his buddy's, but told the actual story to the Coast Guard.

Hypothermia will cause very irrational behavior such as taking off clothes etc. I commercial fished for years and have been a pinch a time or two and people tend to lose their heads in a crisis and panic. Survivor probably witnessed all of this and didn't want to tell the families of his friends the insanity that ensued after the boat flipped.

One dicision that could have maybe saved all of them depending on the conditions at the time was to cut the anchor line and let it go. I am not sure if they were anchored because of bad weather or for fishing purposes

Report: Improper anchoring caused boat accident

By CHRISTINE ARMARIO, Associated Press Writer 13 hours, 57 minutes ago




TAMPA, Fla. (AP)—An agency investigating a deadly boating accident involving two NFL players and their friends in the Gulf of Mexico has concluded it was caused when the vessel was improperly anchored and the boat capsized after one of them tried to throttle forward to pry loose the anchor.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s investigation also cited carelessness and operator inexperience as contributing factors. The combination of errors came at the time a storm front was moving in, making conditions on the water very rough.
Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, and former University of South Florida players William Bleakley and Nick Schuyler departed from Clearwater Pass, Fla., early Feb. 28 to go offshore fishing for amberjack.
Schuyler, found clinging to the boat two days later, was the lone survivor. The other three men have not been found.


In an in-depth interview with the agency, Schuyler gave this account of the accident:
Early that morning, the men went more than 50 miles offshore in Cooper’s 21-foot vessel. It was loaded with two large coolers filled with ice, drinks, food and beer. All of the friends were dressed in warm clothes, sweat suits and jackets.
Around 5:30 p.m., they went to pull up the anchor and head back to port, but the anchor was stuck. Bleakley suggested they tie it to the transom and use the boat’s motor to pull it loose.
When Cooper tried to thrust the boat forward, the vessel became submerged and capsized, tossing the men overboard. All four tried uprighting the boat by standing on one side of the overturned vessel. When that didn’t work, Bleakley swam underneath and was able to retrieve three life vests, a large cooler and a portable, cushion-type flotation device.
Bleakley, who Schuyler has credited with saving his life, used the makeshift flotation device, which has been described previously as a cushion. The other three wore the vests.
The men appear to have tried everything in their power to rescue themselves: Schuyler told the agency they tried retrieving and using flares, but they were wet, agency Investigator Jim Manson said. They got their cell phones, which were in plastic baggies, but there was no signal.
They knew how many hours were passing because Schuyler had a watch with a light on and was able to keep track of the time. He said that around 5:30 a.m. the next day, Cooper became unresponsive. Schuyler and Bleakley tried to revive him without success.
Cooper’s flotation device was removed and Bleakley put it on. The Oakland Raiders linebacker then became separated from the boat.
About an hour later, Smith started to show “possible extreme symptoms of hypothermia.” He removed his flotation device and also became separated from the boat.
The two college teammates were the only ones left. They hung on together for about 24 hours, until Bleakley grew weak and removed his life vest as well.
Schuyler said that his friend appeared to die as he was holding onto him. He let his friend go and Bleakley drifted away.
Manson said moving the anchor line to the stern, or back of the boat, contributed to the vessel’s instability and flooding when they tried to free it. He described it as a mistake that probably happens every day, but one that a more experienced boater would be aware of and could handle.
Manson recommended cutting the line if boaters are not able to easily free their anchor. The agency advises boaters to take a boating safety course and leave a detailed float plan with friends or family.
Cooper, the boat’s owner, had more than 100 hours of boating experience but no formal education, and had been drinking, according to the report.
“Overall, it’s just a mistake in anchoring,” Manson said.
The Coast Guard released its records on the accident last week. According to the agency, Schuyler told them the boat capsized after their anchor got caught in a reef.
The accuracy of that account was somewhat unclear because Schuyler was suffering from hypothermia and spoke to them shortly after he was pulled from the boat. His doctor said he probably could have only lived another five to 10 hours.
The Coast Guard called off its search after three days of scouring 24,000 miles of ocean.

moral of this story is don't go fishing with NFL players. I bet there will be a book and a movie within the next 5 years.

nhoj said:

moral of this story is don't go fishing with NFL players. I bet there will be a book and a movie within the next 5 years.

Click to expand...

The real moral of the story is don't be 35 miles out in the ocean if you don't know what the fuck you're doing... or else this will happen ^<<^

I live just a few miles from the Coast Guard airport in St. Pete.........you should see these planes. I often think that one day one of them will crash nearby........they look like somethng out of the 50's. JOKE

The Coast Guard called off its search after three days of scouring 24,000 miles of ocean.

Thats a lot of ocean to cover.