Coast Guard suspends search for missing Inglis boater near Cedar Key
U.S. Coast Guard 7th District PA Detachment Tampa Bay
St. Petersburg, Florida - The Coast Guard suspended search efforts, one mile offshore from Cedar Key, Florida, on Sunday evening, January 2, 2022, for missing boater, 39 year-old Michael Sedor, of Inglis, Florida.
A Coast Guard Station Yankeetown crew discovered a body matching the description of the other missing boater, 33 year-old David Savioe of Crystal River, shortly after 7:00 am, Saturday, January 1, near his sunken vessel, “Dog House,” a 31-foot, 1985 Trophy.
Coast Guard crews searched for the two men for approximately 125 hours, covering 1,332 square nautical miles.
"One of the toughest parts of the job is suspending search and rescue efforts, and we do not make this decision lightly," said Capt. Matthew Thompson, commanding officer of Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg. "It is only after the Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Levy County Sheriff’s Office, and local partner agencies saturated every possible area that we must make this call."
A good Samaritan notified Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders at 11:00 am, Wednesday, December 29, 2021, reporting debris in the water, about 7 miles offshore from Cedar Key, which search crews later learned was from the vessel Dog House. Upon notification, watchstanders deployed Coast Guard crews to search the area with the help of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Levi Sheriff’s County Office diving crews.
The two boaters reportedly departed from the Blackwater Marina in Yankeetown, Florida on Tuesday, December 28, 2021.
Involved in the search were:
- Coast Guard Station Yankeetown 27-foot boat crew
- The Coast Guard Cutter Crocodile crew
- The Coast Guard Cutter Diamondback crew
- Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater HC-130 and MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrews
- Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission marine crews
- Levy County Sheriff’s Office crews