Body Recovered Near Courtney Campbell Causeway

TAMPA, FL — The search for a missing boater in waters near the Courtney Campbell Causeway may have ended with a grim discovery. The Tampa Police Department announced the recovery of a man’s body Saturday morning.

According to the agency, an adult male’s body was found in the area near the causeway boat ramp by dive teams just before 10 a.m. The agency is now working to determine if it is the man who went missing Friday afternoon.

The search for the man began when police received a 911 call Friday afternoon. Police said the man was in a rental boat with a passenger when the boat hit a sandbar. The man jumped off to free the boat from the sandbar and went under water.

“The boat drifted as he attempted to remain afloat,” an email from police said. The man resurfaced twice and the passenger tossed a life vest to him, the agency said. “However, he did not resurface a third time.”

The search was called off Friday night, but resumed Saturday morning. Dive teams from the police department, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard, Tampa Fire & Rescue and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office all took part in the search.

The body was recovered around 9:52 a.m. Oct. 22, police said. FWC is now leading the investigation.

Further information is not yet available. Police have not released the man's name.

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