JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The U.S. Coast Guard is now the lead agency in the search for a missing teenage boater who disappeared after falling overboard from a 30-foot commercial fishing vessel near the Buckman Bridge Thursday morning.
Other crab boat captains searched along the southern span of the Buckman Bridge throughout the day.
According to a close friend who posted on Facebook, the 19-year-old was on his crab boat alone when he went overboard.
The Coast Guard received notification at 8 a.m. after the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office received a report from an off-duty police officer who said a vessel was unmanned and running in circles near the bridge. Watchstanders launched a 29-foot Response Boat small crew from Naval Station Mayport and issued an urgent marine information broadcast notifying all boaters in the area to keep a sharp lookout for the 19-year-old man reported missing.
Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department crews, along with Florida Fish & Wildlife, U.S. Customs & Border Protection and the JSO dive unit are also assisting in the search. JFRD originally tweeted that they were responding to a "marine incident" at 8:53 a.m.
Rescue crews say the boat was somehow connected to the bridge, either by water current or just stuck. JFRD says it has also received reports of someone in the water.
The captain of the vessel is nowhere to be found, according to JFRD.
The agency said a multi-agency search is ongoing. Avoid the area if possible.