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By Emily Nipps, Brant James, Kameel Stanley and Craig Pittman, Times
Staff Writers

Published Tuesday, March 3, 2009

ST. PETERSBURG — At sunset Tuesday, the U.S. Coast Guard suspended its
search for three boaters missing in the Gulf of Mexico since Saturday,
further dimming the hopes of their anxious families.

"We're extremely confident that if there were any survivors, we would
have found them by now," said Capt. Timothy Close.

Two aircraft and three ships covered more than 20,000 square miles
during the search, finding the capsized 21-foot Everglades fishing craft
Monday along with one survivor, Nick Schuyler, 24, of Tampa, crouched
atop the hull.

On Tuesday searchers found a life jacket and a cooler 16 miles away, but
that was all.

Schuyler told Coast Guard investigators a strange story about the fate
of the others, according to family members of two of the missing men.
However, they said, given Schuyler's condition when rescued after two
days on the sea in cold weather, he may have been delusional.

Schuyler told investigators that about two to four hours after their
boat flipped in rough seas, one of the two National Football League
players on board gave up hope and let himself be swept away, according
to relatives briefed by the Coast Guard.

A few hours later, the second one did the same.

"We were told that Nick said the two NFL players took their life jackets
off and drifted out to sea," said Bob Bleakley, whose son Will, 25, a
former University of South Florida football player, is also still missing.

With former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Marquis Cooper, 26, and Corey Smith,
29, gone, only Schuyler and Will Bleakley remained clinging to the boat.

Then, sometime early Monday, Will Bleakley thought he saw a light in the
distance. He decided to take off his life jacket and swim to it, hoping
to get help, Bob Bleakley said Schuyler told the investigators.

"I think he was delusional to think he could swim someplace," Bob
Bleakley said.

But the thought that his son may have died trying to save someone else
brought tears to his eyes. "He was my hero," said the elder Bleakley,
who lives in Crystal River.

Ray Sanchez, a cousin of Cooper, who is a linebacker for the Oakland
Raiders, said he was told the same story by Coast Guard officials. But
like Bob Bleakley, he cautioned against taking Schuyler's word for what
happened, given the circumstances.

"We're not 100 percent sure where his head was at," Sanchez said. "He'd
been through a lot."

Schuyler was airlifted from the gulf about noon Monday and was in fair
condition at Tampa General Hospital on Tuesday. He could not be reached
for comment, and Coast Guard spokesmen said they could not comment on
the specifics of their investigation.

Schuyler's father, Stuart, said late Tuesday that his son is "slowly
improving. It's going to be a while. He's been through a lot there." He
would not comment on anything else.

The four friends set out Saturday morning to fish for amberjack aboard
an Everglades 211 CC, a small, deep-vee offshore boat that Cooper
purchased in 2005 from Sun Ray Marine in Largo.

By 2 p.m., a gorgeous weekend day had turned nasty, with heavy gusts and
6-foot waves.

The men were anchored about 38 miles offshore Saturday afternoon when
high waves flipped their boat, dumping them all in the frigid sea.

At the time, none was reportedly wearing a life vest. Bob Bleakley said
Coast Guard officials told him that Schuyler credited Will Bleakley with
doing all he could to help the others. He said he was told Bleakley dove
under the capsized boat several times to retrieve life vests for
everyone, along with bottles of water and jackets.

As the hours passed, the water's chill overwhelmed their bodies' ability
to produce heat, and hypothermia set in. Symptoms can include a gradual
loss of mental and physical abilities.

That could explain the kind of erratic behavior Schuyler described, said
Susan Bleakley, Will Bleakley's aunt.

"Apparently when you have that, you're not thinking straight," she said.

Hopes for the missing men's rescue surged Monday when the Coast Guard
found Schuyler, but then dwindled again Tuesday.

"We're still hoping for a miracle of all miracles, but we know the
chances of Will being found alive are diminishing and getting close to
zero," Bob Bleakley said. "We think he may be lost." Nevertheless, he
said, the family had not started planning a funeral, contrary to some
reports.

Close said the Division 7 Coast Guard, which is based in St. Petersburg,
is among the most active and experienced stations in the nation for
search-and-rescue missions. He said Coast Guard officials had heard that
some people might be mounting what he called "amateur search efforts."

He cautioned well-meaning amateurs not to endanger themselves, saying
the Coast Guard doesn't need to be called out on "any new search and
rescue missions."

Times staff writers John Frank and Alexandra Zayas contributed to this
report. Emily Nipps can be reached at or (727) 893-8452.

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