Fishermen still missing with no clues for search

TAMPA -- It has been four days now since three boaters went missing, but Coast Guard officials say they never even began a search because they did not know where to start.

The trio, including Ulies Roldan, 36, of Tampa, reportedly set out from Clearwater on Sunday, intent on fishing a wide swath of the Gulf of Mexico between Tampa and Naples. Authorities say they never filed a "float plan," an informal declaration to friends or family members announcing a boater's location and the expected time of return.

"We couldn't realistically launch a search with our assets not knowing where to search," said Petty Officer First Class Tasha Tully, a Coast Guard spokeswoman. "The circumstance is that we don't have anywhere to begin."

Tully said Coast Guard personnel have been out on the sea and in the air on routine patrols looking for distressed vessels, but never honed in on a specific area in search of the missing fishermen.

No vessels matching the description -- a red, white and gray, 1988, 28-foot Wellcraft with two outboard engines and the Florida registration of FL0340G -- have been spotted, Tully said.

If the fishermen are still at sea, Tully said, they have been battling blustery winds and "very substantial" 4 to 7 foot waves on the water since Sunday.

The Coast Guard hasn't received a single call about the missing vessel since issuing a notice to local boaters and fishermen Monday.

"That's what kind of strange about this,"  Tully said. "We're kind of at a loss."

The Coast Guard asks anyone with information to call (727) 824-7506 or marine VHF radio channel 16.

-- Casey Cora, Times staff writer

Comments

[HMMM]

Perhaps a drug run to Cuban waters that encountered a cuban naval vessel?

[wow]

That's quite a conspiracy theory you got there... Where the heck did you come up with that ridiculous thought? We're no where near Cuba dude! Not to mention not too many "fishing" vessels make for good drug running boats.

[bob]

Hmmmm, Tom Clancy you ain't. A 28' Wellcraft Coastal holds 182 gallons of fuel. That's nowhere near enough for a one way trip to Cuba from Clearwater. Might as well say they went on to Cancun for Spring Break.

[voxy]

wow why yall so worried about refuting that??
hmmmmmmmmmm

[BDIDDY]

SO MUCH FOR SEARCH AND RESCUE.

[CP]

If I had to guess, I would say that the boat is sitting on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico right now. An EPIRB (Satellite Locator) would probably have saved these three boaters lives. My father never goes offshore fishing without one. The average time of rescue is about 4 hours.

[don]

I think the Coast Guard should have made an attempt at locating these fishermen. They have a reasonable idea where they were, they can cover a lot of territory, and there should have been a reasonable effort.

[Rebman]

From Tampa to Naples going into the Gulf is an incredible amounty of territory to cover. There is absolutely no way the CC can do a search without knowing at least where to start. Without that knowledge than regular patrols, I would think, are sufficient until they got better location information. Stop blaming the CC. They can do only with the informaton they have.

[jojo]

Doesn't safety begin with personal responsiblilty? They should have made known some sort of "float" plan. It's like wearing your seatbelt. If you don't take personal responsibility for your own safety, then don't expect some organization to come to the rescue. It's all about personal accountability.