World

NFL Player Lost at Sea Urged to Buy Life-Saving Device

by patgarcia | March 6, 2009 at 07:30 am

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A great tragedy, that could probably have been prevented with a life saving device gadget which can never be known with certainty, tragedies do happen in the immensity of the ocean. As our local fishermen say " you have to have respect for the ocean".

My condolences for the families of Marquis Cooper,William Bleakley and fellow NFL player Corey Smith . Their search has been called off.

The only survivor Nick Schuyler said two of those lost gave up after hours in the frigid water and the third tried to swim to safety.

Two days before NFL player Marquis Cooper took a doomed fishing trip with three friends in Florida Gulf Coast waters, a friend urged him to buy a life-saving device used to locate boats in distress.

Cooper hadn't heard of the gadget, an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB). And he didn't purchase one before his excursion on Saturday, according to the St. Petersburg Times.

Cooper friend William Bleakley and fellow NFL player Corey Smith remain lost and presumed dead after their boat flipped over in rough seas Saturday.

A fourth man with them, Nick Schuyler, survived by clinging to the overturned vessel for 46 hours.

The Coast Guard never received a distress signal from Cooper's 21-foot fishing boat.