A Martin County man who went fishing in a 14-foot aluminum boat Tuesday and failed to return was found alive after an all night multi-agency search. “We have a story that really could’ve ended in tragedy,” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told reporters shortly before noon Wednesday at Sandspirit Park in Stuart where Justin Skiff had launched about 24 hours earlier to go fishing offshore. The US Coast Guard says a helicopter lifted the missing boater to safety on Wednesday. The Coast Guard helicopter located the man in his 14-foot skiff, which reportedly ran out of gas, about nine miles southeast of Fort Pierce, Florida.
Coast Guard locates missing boater 29-year old Justin Skiff offshore. Few details at this time, but Skiff is said to be safe. pic.twitter.com/NpYTsodrVv
— MartinCountySheriff (@MartinFLSheriff) January 8, 2020
Though found safe, 29 year-old Skiff is “beaten down and exhausted” from the overnight ordeal.