Search Resumes for Missing Boater

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This article was updated at 8:40 a.m. Monday, April 8.)

An air and sea search for a 49-year-old boater resumed at dawn Monday off the coast of Fort De Soto Park, according to the U.S. Coast Guard and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office.

Rescuers are searching for Michael Douglas Rhine, of Pinellas Park, who apparently fell off his 24-foot recreational boat Sunday afternoon and did not resurface. He was wearing red shorts, without a shirt or life jacket.

The search was launched late Sunday afternoon, after the boater was reported missing. But it was called off at about 11 p.m., due to the lack of visibility from fog.

According to a press release from the U.S. Coast Guard: "A good Samaritan contacted Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg at 4:40 p.m., via VHF-FM  Channel 16, reporting he witnessed the man fall overboard while working on his engine. The man never resurfaced."

Aiding in the search:

• 25-foot Response Boat-Small boatcrew from Coast Guard Station St. Petersburg,
• MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater,
• Boat crew from Eckerd College Search and Rescue,
• Boat crew from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission,
• Boat crew from Pinellas County Fire and Rescue.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Sector St. Petersburg at 727-824-7506.