Missing diver found dead in Madeira Beach

UPDATE: Authorities have identified the drowning victim as Glenn W. Lycans, 49, who lived aboard a fishing boat Pedro Julio, which is a sister boat to the Julissa.

[Andrea Zaleski questions Sam Rhodes after her friend drowned this morning trying to repair a commercial fishing boat at Holiday Isles Marina in Madeira Beach. Rhodes is captain of the boat the victim died trying to repair. Martha Rial | Times]


MADEIRA BEACH -- Authorities have recovered the body of the missing fisherman who disappeared this morning after trying to make an underwater boat repair.

Divers found the man in the same area where he was last seen, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. He was not identified.

Authorities began looking for the man after he failed to resurface after trying to make an underwater repair to the Julissa, a fishing vessel. They say the man was trying to clear the propeller of the boat.

Deputies say the man was last seen about 9 a.m. today with snorkeling gear behind Madeira Seafood at 555 150th Ave.

While the air and underwater search was underway this morning, students at nearby Madeira Beach Middle School were kept inside, school officials said.

Last month, a 45-foot fishing vessel called the Julissa was assisted by the Coast Guard after one of three crew members used a ship-to-shore radio to report that about 4 feet of water had been collecting below the deck in the engine room for unknown reasons.

A Coast Guard rescue helicopter, an HH-60 Jayhawk, was called away from a routine training mission to find the vessel and drop a pump to the crew about 40 miles west of Egmont Key.

Hours later, the boat made its way back to Madeira Beach.

It is not known if the boats are the same.

-- Melanie Ave and Curtis Krueger, Times Staff Writers

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