March 15 (UPI) — Authorities continue to search for two men who disappeared during a spring break boating excursion in the Gulf of Mexico, near Tampa.
Search teams are looking for Jie Lou, 21, and Andrew Dillman, 27, in the waters of the Pass-A-Grille channel — just west of Tampa Bay and the city of St. Petersburg in the Gulf of Mexico.
Jie, a student from Colorado State University, went missing first after he and four other men jumped in for a swim while the boat was anchored at Shell Key. The men were forced to return to the boat when winds picked up and the water became turbulent, but Jie didn’t make it.
Dillman, a member of the boat’s crew, disappeared after jumping in to assist Jie, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday. Neither man was wearing a life jacket in the water.
The U.S. Coast Guard said rescue crews from Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Pinellas County and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are participating in the search — and had covered more than 400 square miles by Wednesday afternoon.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of Andrew and Jie during this difficult time,” command officer Lt. Jason Holstead, said Wednesday. “We continue work closely with our partners to search for Andrew and Jie, all of us have them and their family in our thoughts and prayers.”
“The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority and we are very concerned to hear of what has happened in Florida. We are gathering details and when we learn more from law enforcement, we will share information that we are able to provide,” CSU spokesman Mike Hooker said in a statement. “The thoughts and hope of our CSU community are for the safety of our students involved in this incident, with the missing student and rescue crew member and families and friends of those involved, and for the safety of rescue crews who are involved in the search.”
Dillman, of New York, was part of the local charter crew for the 71-foot “Jaguar” vessel.
Authorities said a total of 18 people were rescued on the Tampa Bay area’s waters on Monday and Tuesday after various incidents.
