Several Orlando boaters who had failed to return from a snorkeling trip off Key West were found "safe and in good spirits" after a U.S. Coast Guard search Wednesday, 24 hours after they left their resort.
- 4 boaters — 3 from Orlando — went missing after snorkeling trip
- Boat left Key West resort Tuesday, failed to return when expected
- Crews from several agencies conducted search
A Coast Guard airplane spotted the four people — David Thompson, 48; his son, Joshua, 15; his son-in-law, Adam Kelley, 28, all of Orlando; and Evan Thompson, 11, a cousin from Gainesville — in a boat more than 40 miles northwest of Key West. They'll be brought back to U.S. Coast Guard Sector Key West.
The four had left left Banana Bay Resort Tuesday in a 25-foot Grady White to snorkel north of Key West and were scheduled to return before 4 p.m. A concerned family member contacted the Coast Guard at about 6:30 p.m. to report they hadn't returned when expected.
Two boat crews from Coast Guard Station Key West, a helicopter crew and a second helicopter crew from Air Station Miami, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission searched for the boaters Tuesday.
The Coast Guard said its crews covered almost 4,000 square nautical miles (4,600 miles) by air and sea before finding the missing boaters.