3 NFL Players Missing?

[Giantmetfan07]

The Coast Guard is currently searching for a missing fishing boat which holds three NFL players, all currently unnamed, according to a report.

Believed to be about 50 miles off the shore of Clearwater, Fla., the boat supposedly is holding four passengers total. Though the identities of the players are unknown, the report identifies one as a Lion and another as a Raider. At around 1:30 AM ET on Sunday, the Coast Guard was informed by friends of the passengers that the boat hadn't returned from a fishing trip that left early Saturday morning.

NFL.Fanhouse

also heard it on a few other places as well. Thats strange man, hope their alright.

 

[TheWrestler]

Yeah, it's on the news right now. (Clearwater is basically Tampa)

 

[jarrod2323]

well, must be players native to that area.. I bet with our knowledge and such, we could probably figure it out

 

[TheWrestler]

well, must be players native to that area.. I bet with our knowledge and such, we could probably figure it out

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/st...kSanyO4BZA.cspx

According to Coast Guard officials, the 21-foot fishing boat left from a boat ramp in Clearwater Pass Saturday about 6:30 am with 4 people on board.

Friends Victor "Marquis" Cooper, Nick Skyler, Corey Smith and a fourth person haven't been seen since.

 

[bestkeptsecret13]

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- 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 their agents 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 motor-life boat to search a 750-square mile area west of Clearwater Pass on Sunday.

"We are in contact with the Coast guard and Corey's family has been informed," Smith's agent Ron Del Duca told ESPN.com's Bill Williamson. "Corey is one of the good guys out there. We're just waiting for more information and hoping for the best."

Troy Asmus, one of Cooper's agents, said he has been in contact with the NFL and that the league is aware of the situation.

"I have been in contact with the Coast Guard and they are continuing to work hard to find everyone," Asmus told Williamson. "We are hoping and praying for the best."

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

Smith, 29, had 30 tackles, including three sacks, and an interception in 12 games last season for the winless Lions. Smith, who is 6-foot-2, 250 pounds, also played for the San Francisco 49ers and played college ball at North Carolina State.

Del Duca said Smith was planning to start visiting teams as a free agent this week.

Cooper, 26, has played sparingly in five seasons with the Buccaneers, Seahawks, Jaguars, Steelers and Raiders. Cooper, who is 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, played college ball at Washington.

Nick Skyler and an unnamed fourth person are also among the missing.

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 said he had heard Smith was aboard a missing boat but hadn't been able to confirm it.

"We're aware of the media reports," Keenist said Sunday afternoon. "We're trying to find out what we can."

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=3943945

 

[RipCity32]

Damn, I hope they find them alive :/.

 

[TheWrestler]

I heard the other two were Bucs' players.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

not looking good.

A source has informed profootballtalk.com that authorities have called off the search for a missing boat believed to be carrying Raiders LB Marquise Cooper and Lions DE Corey Smith.

Sobering news. The boat was also carrying two other friends: Nick Skyler and William Bleakley. The 21-foot boat was reportedly in 13-foot waves. Florio writes, "As it was explained to us, unless the men made it onto another vessel or managed to navigate 13-foot waves in that 21-foot boat, it’s not looking good."

 

[.GR]

Wow. That is horrible.

 

[Giantmetfan07]

they've been searching the waters with boats and choppers all day and night and nothing was found, so they are apparently calling it off.

I still think their searching, because i cant find any major news site confirming this yet.

 

[Blake]

they've been searching the waters with boats and choppers all day and night and nothing was found, so they are apparently calling it off.

I still think their searching, because i cant find any major news site confirming this yet.

I just hear on the News (Bay News 9) that they had called the search off for the night.

 

[Lake Louise]

I heard about this when I came home and all I can say is I hope they find them. Also, Flordia has had a lot of missing people lately. 1st the Casey Anthony story, than the Haleigh story, who also is from Orlando, which was kind of weird, and now this.

 

[Blake]

I heard about this when I came home and all I can say is I hope they find them. Also, Flordia has had a lot of missing people lately. 1st the Casey Anthony story, than the Haleigh story, who also is from Orlando, which was kind of weird, and now this.

Yeah, the Caylee Anthony case was huge down here. I took a few trips to Orlando, and they had billboards/posters/signs everywhere.

It's a damn shame what happened to her, but on another note, things like this happen, seriously, all the time around here.

It happened to my Uncle, he was found, alive, on an island about 20 miles out, then again, these guys were 50 miles out. I don't even think you can see the shore from that far out; hate to say this, but they will be lucky to find the bodies, let alone find them alive.

 

[PiStoL31PeTe]

i just heard about this today. Hope their able to find the other three that are missing.

 

[Blake]

They found one...

 

[Gtown81]

I don't care if they're football players or not, I just hope they find them.

 

[lonesomefx]

2 Were NFL from what I heard

 

[Blake]

2 Were NFL from what I heard

Yeah, the other two were from USF, but I know they found one of them.

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY (Bay News 9) -- One of the men aboard a 21-foot fishing boat that overturned Saturday in the Gulf of Mexico was rescued Monday, but the other three men remain missing.

The Coast Guard is still searching for former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Corey Smith and Marquis Cooper and William Bleakley, a former USF football player.

Found 35 miles offshore, boater Nick Schuyler was rescued from an overturned boat after almost two days of being lost at sea. Schuyler is a former USF football player.

Schuyler's parents spoke to the media shortly after he was taken to the hospital.

"I passed out. We're ecstatic. I went down. We couldn't have asked for a better ending for us," said Schuyler's mother, Marsha. "I went and saw him first and he told me, 'Mom, I kept saying you're not going to go to my funeral. That's what kept me hanging on.'"

"I feel the same way, of course," said Schuyler's father, Stu. "But my heart's still out- there's still three men missing. We're all praying for them. These guys were all very close friends."

Stu Schuyler said his son should be okay, adding that he's in serious, but stable condition and that he had been in the water since Saturday afternoon.

"He looks okay. A few cuts and bruises. He was dehydrated. His body temperature is not that far from normal," Stu Schuyler said. "Breathing's heavy and his heartbeat is a little high, but they say he's going to be okay."