March 5, 2009
Boat Accident Survivor Account Disputed
Father Of Missing NFL Player Rejects Idea That His Son Removed Life Vest And Gave Up
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Play CBS Video Video Boater's Account Questioned Hypothermia may have caused three missing boaters to give up hope or it may have affected what the lone survivor remembers, reports Kelly Cobiella.
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Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigator George Wells, center, officer Rich Schefano, right, and Lt. Ed Prouty, right, examine Marquis Cooper's boat at the Bay Pines boat ramp Wednesday night, March 4, 2009 in St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
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Photo Essay Missing Boaters Two NFL players, another man missing at sea, fourth man rescued clinging to hull of boat.
Family and friends refused to end the search for two NFL players and a third man missing four days in the Gulf of Mexico, enlisting private boats and planes to comb the waters off the Florida coast.
The only known survivor, Nick Schuyler, was rescued Monday.
The Coast Guard called off the official search Tuesday for Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent NFL defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played for the Detroit Lions last season, and former South Florida player William Bleakley. The friends have been missing since their boat overturned Saturday in rough seas.
Cooper's father, Bruce, rejected Schuyler's version of events, saying his son was not the type to give up.
"I raised the kid. I lived with the kid. That's not his character," Bruce Cooper told The St. Petersburg Times.
"In my heart of hearts," the father said, "I just really believe that he's out there somewhere, just waiting to be found."
Hypothermia could have made Cooper and Smith irrational enough to remove their life vests or Schuyler confused about what he saw, reports CBS News correspondent Kelly Cobiella.
Authorities were done, but about a dozen charter boats motored out Wednesday, some with friends of the families aboard, to try to locate some signs of the men, according to dock workers at John's Pass near St. Petersburg. Three private planes also flew over the endless stretch of water, according to Cooper's father.
"Everyone around here, they've either known someone or heard of someone who's been lost out at sea," said David Scott, who works at a marina at John's Pass. "It's just one of those situations. Everyone really comes together in times like these."
Schuyler, the fourth man on the fishing trip and Bleakley's former South Florida teammate, was rescued after a Coast Guard cutter crew found him clinging to the hull 35 miles off Clearwater. His doctor said it's a "miracle" Schuyler survived in the 63-degree Gulf water for nearly two days.
Dr. Mark Rumbak said the 24-year-old was in good condition but will remain in intensive care in case there are complications. Schuyler probably could have lived only another five to 10 hours, Rumbak said.
"I think he is extremely fortunate," Rumbak said. "I can't explain it. Some divine providence, I really think."
Authorities located 26-year-old Cooper's 21-foot boat, which had drifted 50 miles west of Sarasota, said Jim Manson, an investigator with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. It took two private boats three tries to right the vessel and it appears to be in good shape, Manson said. Inside were 5-gallon gas cans, a life jacket, water bottles and some bagged sandwiches.
The boat was pulled ashore about 8:30 p.m. at a boat ramp in St. Petersburg. There was little visible damage, although an engine cover appeared to be missing, exposing wiring and parts.
The men left Clearwater Pass in calm weather, but heavy winds picked up through the day and the seas got heavy, with waves of 7 feet and higher, peaking at 15 feet. A relative alerted the Coast Guard early Sunday after the men did not return as expected.
The missing men's families have set up an e-mail address for experienced pilots and boaters to contact them to help. Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close said the agency wouldn't prevent private searches, but discouraged them, saying they could be dangerous. He said authorities believed if there were more survivors, they would have been found.
Free-agent defensive tackle Tank Johnson, a childhood friend and college teammate of Cooper at Washington, was taking a lead role in the renewed search. Johnson, who played for the Dallas Cowboys last season, said the family has not given up hope that the men are still alive.
"I truly believe he is out there somewhere being strong," Johnson said.
Raiders coach Tom Cable described Cooper as a good teammate and strong leader.
"In our opinion, they're still fighting, they're still battling, they're still doing everything they can to survive to be found," Cable said.
Even if the men aren't found alive, it's important to recover their remains so families can have closure, Johnson said.
"This kid is going fight to the bitter end," said Cooper's father, Bruce Cooper. "And so in my heart of hearts, I just believe he's out there somewhere just waiting to be found."
Schuyler told Bleakley's mother the harrowing account of the friends' fight for survival, describing how they swam back to the boat despite repeatedly being slammed by waves. Bleakley and Schuyler managed to stick together for about 24 hours and they talked about how they would live their lives differently, Betty Bleakley said.
"He said they huddled together, they just kept climbing back on the boat after getting knocked off," she said. "They fought. They fought."
She said her 25-year-old son's actions were heroic, including swimming underneath the boat to get life vests for the other men and then using a cushion for floatation himself.
"That was Will," she said. "Will was calm and levelheaded and would just try to think things through. As painful as it was talking to Nick, it's providing some closure for us."
© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 31 CommentsIt doesn't affect everyone the same way. Physical stamina would help, but in the end the brain has to be even tougher than the body. If you live in very cold climates then you can understand this and you can believe the survivor's story. I do.
And will for long after we all die. No rhyme or reseason.
I send my prayers to all the families invovled.
PEACE BE WITH ALL
back at you
I'm sure your family is happy to read how you would abandon them so easily.
Posted by A_Better_Tomorrow at 10:20 AM : Mar 5, 2009
Very good point
Posted by demslie2all at 8:06 AM
Whos bringing up politics?? You are the only one who mentioned politics on this entire blog... Looney indeed..
I mean, look at your screen name.. You think everything is political, and you say that someone else is bringing up politics?
Some guy says God bless them all.
Where was God when they drowned??
Its a simple question, and you cant answer it..
Your simple mind just sticks the word liberal on anything you cant explain and then your empty mind is satisfied..
Thats some nice life you got there..
You must be soooo smart to have it all figured out:
ITS THE LIBERALS!!
Damn, you are an egergiously stupid person
Posted by rdclark120365 at 7:28 AM
Look, some guy said god was looking out for this guy and watching over the families..
If thats true, why did he let them all drown?
Its ludicrous. Get a life..
And HELL NO I dont beleieve in invisible sky gods, or sun gods, or fairies, or ESP, or ghosts, or any other insane garbage..
Get a dam life already and learn some critical thinking you silly silly fundie person
Posted by dagrandma
What isn?t right is ?survivors guilt?. That is not something that people put on themselves, it is something that society puts on them. We have all been fed this image of ?heroics? by imposters like John Wayne which says it is better to die a hero than to do nothing.
If the sea were strong enough to flip the boat over then they were too strong for this guy to think about jumping back in the water and trying to pull a 300 lb man up on the boat. I wouldn?t have tried it and I would not feel guilty about it and I wouldn?t care if people called me a coward.
The father is upset because this guys story isn?t plausible and he wants to know what the truth is. If the guy just said that the boat flipped and there was nothing he could do, that would be the end of it, but to tell this story of swimming under the boat and swimming out to bring them life jackets and then getting back up on the boat is ridiculous. He is going beyond survivors guilt and trying to claim heroics that just could not have happened. If I was the dead man?s father I would be upset as well.
Posted by Joe-NY-3
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It seems that we are in the minority, but I agree with you, there is something wrong with this story.
Like you, I have been wondering why the others did not pull themsleves out of the water and up on the overturned boat.
I have a hard time with this story of him swimming under the boat to get the others life jackets and him still having his flip flop on.
I wouldn't think it was staged though. I think it is more likely that they all went overboard and he got himself up on the boat immediately and watched as the others went under and he doesn't want to admit he did nothing. He probably couldn't have done anything and would have drowned as well if he had tried. He sat there for a couple of days thinking about it and this was the best story he could come up with to keep people from thinking he was a coward. By now he might even believe it himself. But, the idea that these guys stayed in the water for 2 days and didn't try to get up on the boat just isn't plausible.
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