Defensive end Corey Smith Linebacker Marquis Cooper were among four boaters missing

[Sister Iroz]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) - March 1, 2009 -- Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith and Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper were among four boaters missing Sunday off Florida's Gulf Coast, the Coast Guard and Smith's agent said.

Smith and Cooper were on a 21-foot vessel that left Clearwater Pass on Saturday morning for a fishing trip and did not return as expected, the Coast Guard said Sunday. Crews used a helicopter and a 47-foot boat to search a 750-square mile area west of Clearwater Pass on Sunday.

Cooper owned the boat and he and Smith had been on fishing trips before, said Ron Del Duca, Smith's agent. The pair had been teammates on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004.

The Coast Guard said the two others were aboard, identified as Will Bleakley and Nick Schuyler, but they did not provide other details. The St. Petersburg Times on its Web site identified them as former University of South Florida players. Calls to the school by The Associated Press were not immediately returned.
[...]

"They've assured me that they're deploying all available resources to look for these guys and get them back," he said.

[...]

Rick Davis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Tampa, said seas were about 2 to 4 feet Saturday morning and increased to 3 to 5 feet in the afternoon. Late Saturday night, a small craft advisory was issued, when winds were around 20 knots and seas were up to 7 feet or more. There were no thunderstorms in the area.

Davis said the water was "extremely rough and choppy" on Sunday afternoon.

Lions spokesman Bill Keenist and Raiders senior executive John Hererra said the teams are monitoring reports.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...rticle-6684878

[MichaelJCheaney]

I really hope they find them but given the conditions last night and today I fear it will be a recovery mission.

I hope I am wrong.

[PoongyPrincess]

I hope all the boaters are safely found.

[Whisper]

This is all thats on the news here since Corey played for Lions he was just made a free agent Friday.I hope they are found safe and sound his family has been on the news and they are a mess.

[Sister Iroz]

CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) ―
The Coast Guard found a person clinging to an overturned boat off Florida's Gulf Coast on Monday, but could not immediately confirm whether it is the same boat with two NFL players aboard that went missing over the weekend.
[...]
Everglades boats are built with compressed foam encased in Fiberglas, which makes them difficult or impossible to sink.

Petty Officer Sondra-Kay Kneen confirmed searchers located a boat. No further details were available.

Waves had subsided to 6 to 8 feet, still enough for a small craft advisory, but considerably smaller than the 15-foot waves Sunday, National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Barron said.

Family members believed the men had lifejackets and flares on board. The Coast Guard had not received a distress signal from the men.

[...]

http://cbs3.com/topstories/missing.b....2.947582.html

[Sister Iroz]

The U.S. Coast Guard found a person clinging to an overturned boat off Florida's Gulf Coast on Monday, but authorities at the scene told CBS News that the survivor was not one of two NFL players aboard who went missing over the weekend.

The person found is former University of South Florida football player Nick Schuyler, the Coast Guard told CBS News.

CBS News' Carter Yang learned that Schuyler is alive but there was no immediate word on his condition, although news coverage showed him conscious as he was removed from a Coast Guard helicopter.

There is no word the status of the other three men, including NFL players Corey Smith and Marquis Cooper.

http://cbs3.com/topstories/missing.b....2.947582.html

[Kitty]

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/news?slu...v=ap&type=lgns

Survivor Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida player, told rescuers that the 21-foot boat was anchored when it flipped Saturday evening in rough seas and that the others got separated from the boat, Capt. Timothy M. Close said. Schuyler, who was wearing a life vest, had been clinging to the boat since then.

[Sister Iroz]

Two NFL players and a third man missing since their boat capsized off the Florida coast face dwindling odds of survival after more than two days in the water. The father of an NFL player among three men lost at sea says the Coast Guard's hopes are waning of finding survivors off the Florida Gulf Coast.

Bruce Cooper says he still has hope. But the Coast Guard told families privately that officials weren't optimistic because of the timeframe and possibility of hypothermia.

Cooper's son is Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper. The search for him, free-agent lineman Corey Smith and former college player William Bleakley entered its third day Tuesday.

The Coast Guard wouldn't publicly say whether they thought the men were still alive.

But officials did say the search was aided by information from Nick Schuyler, who was rescued Monday clutching the boat's hull. Schuyler says the men put on life vests after the boat overturned Saturday.

The Coast Guard is focusing on a small area 35 miles from Florida's Gulf Coast, close to where they found the capsized boat Monday, looking for any sign of free-agent Corey Smith, a defensive lineman with the Detroit Lions; Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, who owned the 21-foot boat; and former South Florida player William Bleakley.

Cooper had invited the boat's captain on Saturday's trip but he declined - in part because he was worried about going 50 miles from shore in a 21-foot boat.

http://kdka.com/national/missing.boa....2.949008.html

[Nell]

They're dead. How sad for the families. Did any of these men have kids? I missed it if they did.

[Sister Iroz]

Survivor Nick Schuyler says two NFL players surrendered to the sea and took off their life jackets.

A groggy Schuyler told friends and investigators that Corey Smith who played for the Detroit Lions, and Marquis Cooper of the Oakland Raiders, decided they could no longer hang on to their capsized fishing boat waiting for help off the Gulf Coast of Florida.

The third friend William Bleakley apparently decided to swim for help when he thought he saw a light in the distance.

http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story...EcyeieYfw.cspx

I saw this on the news last night and I thought this doesn't make sense. Why would you give up and take off you life jackets. If you give up just leave your life jackets on what's it going to hurt. Makes no sense at all.

[tricia71]

i'm thinking why give up after only 2-4 hours......this definitely has me searching different theories.....and the are 2 different stories about Will B. Either he tried to swim for it or he died in Nick's arms....which one is it?....just sayin

[thebooblady]

http://www.wxyz.com/news/local/story...EcyeieYfw.cspx

I saw this on the news last night and I thought this doesn't make sense. Why would you give up and take off you life jackets. If you give up just leave your life jackets on what's it going to hurt. Makes no sense at all.

I believe they were suffering from hypothermia and people do some strange things in that condition. They have been known to take off their clothes in negative degree weather.

[Whisper]

They're dead. How sad for the families. Did any of these men have kids? I missed it if they did.

Marquis Cooper has a 3 yr old but I have no clue about the rest of them