SANIBEL, Fla — The US Coast Guard said Saturday evening, that it suspended the search for a 29-year-old man who fell off a fishing vessel.
They say Sterling Grover fell overboard about 80 miles off the Sanibel coast at 10pm Friday.
The Coast Guard says crews searched more than 2,700 square miles in stormy weather.
"It is never an easy decision to suspend an active search and rescue case,” said Cmdr. Fredrick Pugh, search and rescue mission coordinator at Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg. “We offer our sincere condolences to Mr. Grover’s family and friends.”
USCG says an HC-144 aircrew from Air Station Miami searched for the man Saturday morning. This is what that type of aircraft looks like:
![USCG HC-144 Aircraft](https://ewscripps.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/e7ed8d8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/237x149+0+0/resize/237x149!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fewscripps-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbe%2F0d%2F69271d0746dca5c9c0a06e14629e%2Fscreenshot-2024-08-03-at-4-29-22-pm.png)
US Coast Guard