Missing swimmer’s body recovered in Gulf; Swimmer tried to save him

NAPLES, Fla.- A man’s body was pulled from the Gulf of Mexico after a team of divers and rescue boats raced to a scary scene along a Naples beach Friday.

The scene was near the upscale Port Royal community, south of downtown Naples. Crews were on scene and in the water within 6 1/2 minutes of the 911 call. They called on 10 people from the shoreline to help too. After nearly two hours, the man’s body was recovered.

Our crews were on the beach as a woman stared out into the water, watching as a dive team set up a grid. Her friend was out there, somewhere below the surface.

It was hard for her to think or talk, but she told WINK News “he was good hearted, down to earth, a nice guy.” It was 4 p.m. when we spoke to her, the man disappeared just after 2 p.m.

The beach was filled with on-lookers and some were there when the man disappeared.

“I saw two men going into the water. They were going fishing and the other man came back,” said Sigred Weeke, who is visiting Naples with her husband from Germany. “I look and say to my husband, ‘where is the other man?'”

Around that time, Diane Cane saw a man waving his arms on shore. She was on a raft in the water and swam back in. When she heard the man nearby her had gone under, her former lifeguard training kicked in and she dove in to help.

“I said, ‘oh no,’ so I dropped my sunglasses and hat and raft,” said Cane. “I ran out and started diving and looking for the guy until the rescue team got here.”

Crews say there was zero visibility below the surface. Five divers were under the water. Rescue crews say it was their sonar scanner that helped located the man and divers pulled his body onboard a boat. We are told he was in his late 20s or early 30s.

Rescue crews say the victim and his friend swam out 100 yards to fish on a sandbar. But, it was high tide and their fishing spot was 12 feet under water. With poles in hand, they had no where to rest.

“Panic ensued, they now had to swim back to shore and their legs were cramping,” said Chief Steve McInerny with the Naples Fire Department. “One takes the lead, all the fishing poles and the guy behind has trouble keeping up. It was a tragic accident.”