A St. Petersburg man who fell from a boat into a channel south of Maximo Park was found dead the following day by a sheriff’s office dive team, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said.
Tony Le, 63, fell into the water around 11:35 a.m. April 11 near channel marker 18 off 6701 Sunshine Skyway Lane South while boating with his family, the sheriff’s office said. The family was cruising at about 10 mph when Le, who was sitting at the rear of the 19-foot Proline, went overboard.
His family turned the boat around immediately and jumped into the water to search for him, along with other nearby boaters, but could not find him, detectives said.
Le had medical impairments and was wearing a life jacket when the boat launched but appeared to have removed it before he fell into the water, the sheriff’s office said.
Multiple agencies joined the search, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, multiple fire rescue units and Eckerd College. Search efforts were suspended at nightfall and resumed the next morning.
Around 3:27 p.m. April 12, dive team members located Le’s body at a depth of about 19 feet, the sheriff’s office said.
The incident appears to be accidental.