1 Boater Rescued, 3 Still Missing

The odds were low, almost nonexistent, and Marcia Schuyler knew it. Her son had been missing for two days in the open Gulf, and though the Coast Guard was continuing its search, his chance of survival dropped with the passing of each chilly, windy hour.

Finally, a phone call. The Coast Guard had found her son sitting on the hull of the upside-down boat about 40 miles southwest of Clearwater. He was dehydrated, scraped and bruised and his body temperature was dangerously low, but he was alive.

"I passed out," she said. "I went down."

Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida football player, was taken to Tampa General Hospital, where he was admitted about 1:15 p.m. in serious but stable condition, more than 48 hours after he and three friends went out on what was supposed to be a fun fishing trip.

As of late Monday, his three friends - former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Victor "Marquis" Cooper and Corey Smith, and Will Bleakley, another former University of South Florida football player - had not been found.

Fishing Trip With Fiends

The four left on a fishing trip about 6:30 a.m. Saturday from the Seminole boat ramp at Clearwater Pass. The weather was relatively calm when they left in the 21-foot, single-engine boat, possibly for a fishing spot 50 miles out in the Gulf.

The wind quickly picked up, and so did the seas.

Danielle Maloney, owner of Jaxson's Bait Shop near the boat ramp, said Saturday morning was a heavy boating day. By Saturday afternoon, though, the ramps were full of boaters leaving because conditions had gone downhill so quickly.

"They were surprised at how rough the water had become," Maloney said. "Everybody that was coming in was really shaken up from the wind."

Authorities still were trying to piece together late Monday what went wrong and when. The original search area was based on the possibility the four were heading 50 miles out to a spot they had recently fished.

Ray Sanchez, Cooper's cousin, said the Coast Guard told family members all four men were together about 12 hours after the boat flipped but three drifted away. All were wearing lifejackets.

Nick Schuyler's father, Stuart, said his son was heavily medicated and difficult to understand. He did not say how the boat had capsized.

Stuart Schuyler said his son had been in the water since Saturday afternoon. He did not recall the exact conversation they had when he first saw his son, but he remembered his son saying, "Hi, Pops."

Schuyler's mother went to see her son as soon as he was brought into the hospital. She said he told her, "'Mom, I kept saying, 'You are not going to my funeral.' And that's what kept him hanging on," she said.

The Long Search

Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close said Schuyler told rescuers the boat was anchored when it overturned, but it was not at anchor when a spotter aboard the cutter Tornado found Schuyler.

Close said the Coast Guard is adjusting the search based on where the boat was found. Originally, the computer models used to predict where a boat would drift sent searchers northeast.

Coast Guard investigators were hoping to interview Schuyler later Monday to get more information to help pinpoint the search.

The Coast Guard had searchers flying over the area in two helicopters and two airplanes and on a variety of vessels, including an 87-foot cutter. Aircraft from other agencies are involved as well, including a U.S. Air Force C-130 from Moody Air Force Base in Georgia and a 179-foot Coast Guard cutter from Pascagoula, Miss.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission joined the search Monday morning, and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office searched near shore.

The search was hampered Sunday by bad weather conditions, including gusting 30-mph winds and 14-foot seas. Early Sunday morning, the Coast Guard pulled in its 47-foot rescue boat because of the rough seas. Monday was still windy and the seas rough, but not as bad as Sunday.

Close said the water in the search area Monday was 68 degrees, several degrees above the high air temperature for the day.

Other Families Waiting For Word

Stuart Schuyler said that while their family's wait is over, they know the families of the other boaters are still in limbo.

"Our hearts are going out to the three men still missing," he said.

Bleakley's mother, Betty, said Schuyler's rescue showed it was possible to survive the wind, waves and cold.

"That definitely gives us all hope, for sure," she said.

Sanchez, Cooper's cousin, said Cooper's boating experience was giving their family hope.

"If he wasn't experienced and didn't know what he was doing, maybe we'd worry," Sanchez said. "We're confident he's going to come home. He'll be back, definitely."

Cooper owns the boat, and he and Smith have been on fishing trips before, said Ron Del Duca, Smith's agent. The pair had been teammates with the Bucs in 2004.

Cooper, a linebacker, plays for the Oakland Raiders. Smith, a defensive end, played last season for the Detroit Lions.

Del Duca said Smith is one of the "good guys" of the league. He said he has spoken with Smith's family and has been in touch with Coast Guard officials.

Cooper grew up in Arizona, and his father is a sportscaster in Phoenix. Bruce Cooper described his son as an avid fisherman who goes deep-sea fishing "any opportunity he gets." The two went deep-sea fishing together two years ago.

"I swore I would never do so again," Bruce Cooper said in a statement. "I didn't like the fact that I couldn't see land. Needless to say I am very concerned. I am praying and hoping for the best."