U.S. Coast Guard teams are actively searching for a boater who went missing off the Florida coast. The individual, identified as Andre Nolasco, 57, launched his boat from Port Richey’s Nick’s Park on Sunday morning and was reported missing thereafter.
Air and water crews, including a Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH60 Jayhawk helicopter, were deployed to search for Nolasco. His empty vessel was discovered approximately 8 miles west of Hudson.
The search, which began on Sunday, continued overnight into Tuesday morning and will persist throughout Tuesday. The Coast Guard Southeast is actively engaged in the operation.
Nolasco’s family shared that he is a father of two, residing in Port Richey and originally from the Dominican Republic. Friends and family are holding onto hope for his safe return. Yancy Hiraldo, a friend of Nolasco, appealed to him, saying, “Come back to your family because, trust me, your kids need you.”
This search follows a recent incident where the Coast Guard and U.S. Navy successfully rescued four missing divers off the Carolinas coast.
The divers, who had embarked on a dive from the leisure boat “Big Bill’s” near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, were found safe after initially going missing. The search spanned an area approximately 63 miles east of Myrtle Beach and ended with the divers’ safe discovery about 46 miles southeast of Cape Fear River, North Carolina.
