Lower Matecumbe – Two people reported seeing a man floating in the water yelling for help underneath the Channel 2 Bridge early today. A search has failed to find anyone, however.
A woman from Miami and her brother-in-law told Deputy Dave Stark they were fishing from the bridge at 4:30 a.m. when they heard someone yelling for help from the water below the bridge. The woman said her brother-in-law tried to throw the man a rope but was unsuccessful.
She said he drifted from the Oceanside to the bayside and they lost contact with him. They described him as a white male, 30 – 40 years of age wearing a white shirt.
Sheriff’s dispatchers notified Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Coast Guard and marine deputies with the Sheriff’s Office, all of whom turned out to search. The Sheriff’s Trauma Star helicopter also responded, as did a helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard. As of this report, they have not found anyone and no one has been reported missing.
The search continues offshore of the Lower Matecumbe Key area. Anyone with information about anyone missing in the area should call the Sheriff’s Office.