Missing boater spent night atop capsized boat in Gulf of Mexico, Florida rescuers say

A tourist reported missing off the Florida Panhandle spent the night lost at sea, sitting atop his capsized sailboat, officials say.

Alan Blair Marsh was rescued after a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter saw him more than 50 miles northwest of where he set sail.

Gulf County Sheriff’s Office officials say the 57-year-old was reported missing by his wife, who said he departed Cape San Blas around 6 p.m. on Monday, March 25.

“Shortly before 10 p.m., he had not returned yet,” the Gulf County Sheriff’s Office reported in a March 26 news release.

“The boater ... was last seen heading west around sunset. He did not have any communication devices or emergency equipment other than the life jacket he was wearing.”

Deputies joined the Coast Guard and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in a search that covered the water and area beaches, officials said.

The helicopter crew spotted Marsh at 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, “just outside of the West Pass near St. Andrews State Park.”

FWC officers set out in a boat and found him “sitting on top of his overturned vessel, two miles southeast of Panama City Pass,” state officials told McClatchy News.

“He was recovered without injury and reunited with his family at the USCG office in Panama City,” the FWC said.

Details of what caused his 16-foot Hobie Cat to flip were not released. The area saw winds of 20 to 22 mph during the search, forecasters say.

The couple live in Leeds, Alabama, where Marsh works a bus driver for the Shelby County Schools, according to his Facebook page.

Panama City is about a 140-mile drive southeast from Pensacola.

This story was originally published March 28, 2024 at 10:29 AM with the headline "Missing boater spent night atop capsized boat in Gulf of Mexico, Florida rescuers say."