Coast guard search for missing boater after rescuing 3

Published: Updated:
MGN

The Coast Guard is searching for a missing boater who vanished from a sinking commercial fishing boat in the Gulf of Mexico.

63-year-old Dennis Grim is missing after the boat sank 70 miles southwest of Fort Myers Beach.

The captain aboard the 37-foot commercial fishing boat, J.U.M.A., sent a distress call via VHF-FM marine band radio at 3:59 a.m. according to the Coast Guard.

A helicopter crew arrived on scene and rescued James Beeman, Anthony Bertolino and Darren Whalen, who were all in the water clinging to life jackets and debris. The boaters reported Grim as missing from their party, the Coast Guard said.

The helicopter crew transported the three boaters to Lee Memorial Hospital in Fort Myers for symptoms of hypothermia.

The distress call can be heard here:

The Coast Guard asks that mariners keep a sharp lookout, and contact Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg via VHF-FM marine band radio channel 16 or 727-824-7506 with any information regarding the missing boater.

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