ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – The Coast Guard continued its search Monday for a missing boater, whose vessel was discovered after it ran aground Sunday night.
The Coast Guard received notification of the incident from the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office at about 5:45 p.m. Sunday. They were told a 30-foot fishing boat washed ashore with no one on board (pictured). A pair of shoes and cell phone were discovered on the boat and its engines were still running.
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Crews searched throughout the night attempting to find any trace of the missing boater.
"We had the crew on our 87-foot Cutter Diamondback searching all last night," said Petty Officer Stephen Lehmann with the U.S. Coast Guard. "This morning we have a response boat from our station here at Mayport and a helicopter from Clearwater conducting first-light searches of the area."
Jacksonville police determined the vessel belongs to Peter Rodrigues, 57, of Atlantic Beach. They said Rodrigues' vehicle was parked in the same spot where he left it Sunday morning.
"There is a manning requirement for boats of a certain size," Lehmann said. "His boat was 30 feet, and he was out there by himself according to family."
Police said they are treating the situation as if Rodrigues was missing in the ocean. They said the Coast Guard was handling search efforts and JSO air units were assisting.
Friends of Rodrigues told News4Jax he is an ex-Navy Seal and is very good in the water.
"We have reason to believe that he was in contact with family members as late as 1 p.m. Mr. Rodrigues is in very good shape and we're hoping for the best. From what we understand, he's at home in the water and he is a healthy individual," said Sgt. Greg Foxworth.
He was last heard from in a text message to his girlfriend: "All systems working good except the VHF antenna mount was loose," he wrote.
Then he sent another text saying, "I rig it."
Monday, a tool could be seen still attached to the antenna.
Rodrigues filed a float plan before he went out that said, "Back to Palm Cove Marina by noon... catch second half of Jag game."
A tow boat crew spent the day pulling the boat back out onto the water to take it to Jacksonville Beach Marina for inspection by police and the insurance company.