Body of Palm Beach Gardens boater found in Everglades National Park

The body of a 67-year-old boater from Palm Beach Gardens was recovered this afternoon in the Shark River area on the west side of the Everglades National Park, a day after he went missing, according to the National Park Service.

 

The man, who NPS officials declined to identify until his family has been notified, was on a rented houseboat in Oyster Bay when a flats boat attached to the houseboat broke loose. Apparently, he dove into the water to recover the boat and struggled, according to a friend who went to find a life jacket. When the friend returned, the man was no longer visible in the water.

 

Severe thunderstorms this morning stymied efforts to search for the man, who had been missing since 5:30 p.m. Saturday. The name of the friend who alerted authorities, a 67-year-old from Wellington, has also not yet been released.

 

The Coast Guard and Everglades National Park officials searched into the night for the missing man, even calling in a Jayhawk helicopter with night-vision capabilities from the Coast Guard station in Clearwater.