JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two boaters remain unaccounted for over 48 hours after their vessel capsized on the St. Johns River.
RELATED: Coast Guard suspends search for people who went missing after boat capsized on St. Johns River
On Friday, several local agencies mobilized to search for the missing people. Four boaters were rescued safely, but tragically, one was found dead.
The search efforts for the three remaining boaters continued into Saturday, with the U.S. Coast Guard, Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission participating, however, the Coast Guard announced the suspension of their search operations later in the evening.
FWC is the organization leading ongoing search efforts, stating that they will continue their search, but they are not alone.
On Sunday, community members got involved in looking for the final three boaters and expressed their commitment to providing closure for the families involved.
Various boating and community groups took to social media to organize the search efforts, which saw jet skis and boats patrolling the St. Johns River in hopes of locating the three remaining boaters.
“Just keep searching,” Maggie Cantu said. “Anybody that has a boat, any locals, if it was your family you wouldn’t want to search to stop just keep looking for them until they’re found.”
Late Sunday evening, one more boater was found according to JSO, bringing the number of missing boaters down to two.
Cantu said she has known the family for years through their schooling. She went to the Lions Club Boat Ramp along with several other teachers to help with the search.
She said this search is important to her because she’d hope to receive the same treatment if she went missing.
“If it happened to me, if it happened to you, if it was somebody else’s family, we would want them to be treated the same way,” Cantu said. “It’s important to keep the story alive and to be out here searching and not give up until we find bodies.”
News4JAX spoke with a maritime expert who specializes in crashes similar to the one that occurred Friday night, and they recommended crews search for any loose remains of the boat, like seat cushions or other items, that can give investigators an idea of how things have moved over the past couple of days.
FWC said they will be back out on the water searching on Monday. FWC has urged the public to avoid the search zone to ensure the safety of divers and officers working in the area.
Around 10 p.m., the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said one of the boaters had been located, saying, “We have been made aware of one of the three being located. Outside of this, we do not have any further information.”
News4JAX reached out to Florida Fish and Wildlife and will update this story with their response.
