William M Adair~Msg~9/9/08~Boater

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last updated at 9/12/2008 1:56:04 PM
Coast Guard ends search for missing Bonita Springs boater

By STEVEN BEARDSLEY
Naples Daily News

The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday suspended its search for missing Bonita Springs boater William Mark Adair, who was last seen on Key Largo Island.

"We stopped searching for Mr. Adair unless there is ample information to start a search again," Coast Guard spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson said Friday.

Rescuers from the Coast Guard, state Fish and Wildlife Service, and two local parks combed 3,448 square miles of land and sea since Adair, 45, was reported missing Tuesday, according to a press statement. They used a boat, two planes and two helicopters.

Adair registered as a camper at Key Largo's John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park last week, according to park police. His truck and empty trailer were seen parked at the marina as officers evacuated the area for Hurricane Ike last weekend. Coworkers of Adair told Lee County deputies he headed to the Keys last Wednesday after receiving troubling family news.

The last known contact from Adair was a text message he sent to a family friend, that stated Adair was heading back to the park, the Coast Guard statement said.

The Coast Guard was broadcasting a description of Adair's boat, a 17-foot single-engine Sailfish, on marine radio.

Johnson, the Coast Guard spokeswoman, said she was confident that rescuers searched the area where Johnson's boat would have been.

Hurricane Ike passed south of the Keys earlier this week, causing heavy rains and high winds.

http://www.sunnewspapers.net/articles/fnnews.aspx?articleID=5725&fnpg=0

[awakening2lite]

No new developments in search for missing boater

September 11, 2008

Coast Guard officials in Key West said there are no new developments Thursday in its search for William Adair, a boater from Bonita Springs who was reported missing off Key Largo on Tuesday.

"We had one flight this morning and one scheduled this afternoon," said Petty Officer Jennifer Johnson. "We also have a small boat from Islamorada out there as well. We're out to saturate the area."

Johnson explained that due to Hurricane Ike and evacuation of the Florida Keys, the search by boats didn't begin until the late afternoon Wednesday.

The Coast Guard spent Thursday morning and afternoon searching the flats (Gulf of Mexico side of Islamorada), Johnson said.

"With the weather conditions of the past few days and where he was seen last, it's the best possible location," Johnson added.

http://www.news-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080911/NEWS0102/80911030

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http://www.naplesnews.com/news/2008/sep/16/boat-missing-man-found/


By STEVEN BEARDSLEY (Contact)
Originally published 6:25 p.m., Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Updated 7:52 p.m., Tuesday, September 16, 2008

BONITA SPRINGS — The 17-foot boat of missing Bonita Springs resident William Mark Adair was found overturned in the Florida Keys on Sunday, but no signs of its owner were present, officials reported.

A boater found the craft some 10 miles south of Big Pine Key, in a commercial fishing area more than 60 miles west of Key Largo, where Adair was last seen, said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officer Bobby Dube.

“It was flipped over, but it didn’t look like it was involved in an accident or crashed into something,” Dube explained.

He said rough weather from Hurricane Ike likely overturned the boat, a single-engine Sailfish, and then pushed it west. Most drifting boats are pulled northeast by the Gulf stream, Dube said.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer James Harless said the search for Adair will remain suspended. Dube said FWC will keep the case open, in hopes another boater may find and report Adair’s body, or that other clues may come in.

Adair, 45, who lives off Jarrow Road, was reported missing last Tuesday, when co-workers at Cintas Fire Protection in Fort Myers noticed his absence.

The alarm technician took several days off his job after learning his wife intended to divorce him, co-workers told Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies.

Adair spent several days at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo before he went missing. Dube said several people at the park heard Adair say he wanted to go fishing one last time before the island was evacuated for the hurricane.

Later that weekend, park police noticed that Adair’s truck and empty trailer remained in the parking lot, after every other vehicle was moved for the evacuation.

The hurricane would move south of the island but still cause heavy rains and wind in the area.

The Monday after the hurricane, Adair didn’t return to work. Co-workers went by his home on Tuesday morning but found no one there, according to the Sheriff’s Office report.

The boat was found in good condition and there were no signs of foul play, Harless said. The boat was later towed to Big Pine Key, where it was impounded.

“There’s no reason to believe anything happened but it capsized due to foul weather,” Harless said.