Coast Guard: Still no sign of missing NFL boaters

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Coast Guard rescuers searched 16,000 square miles of ocean off Florida's Gulf Coast but found no sign of a fishing boat carrying two NFL players and two other men Monday, a day after they were reported missing.

Corey Smith, a free-agent defensive end who played for the Detroit Lions last season, and Marquis Cooper, an Oakland Raiders linebacker, as well as former University of South Florida players Will Bleakley and Nick Schuyler left on a fishing trip early Saturday. Weather conditions worsened through the day and the men did not return as expected in the evening.

One of the men's relatives reported them missing, and the Coast Guard searched a wide area west of Clearwater Pass but were hampered by rough seas and weather.

By Monday, the harsh conditions were starting to subside. Waves were 6 to 8 feet, still enough for a small craft advisory, but considerably smaller than the 15-foot waves Sunday, National Weather Service meteorologist Todd Barron said.

Waters should continue to calm over the next few days, and normal wave height is about 2 to 3 feet, Barron said. The men were traveling in a 21-foot Everglades-manufactured boat, the Coast Guard said.

Everglades boats are built with compressed foam encased in Fiberglas, which makes them difficult or impossible to sink. Sam Arrants, a sales manager with North Florida Yacht Sales in Jacksonville, Fla., which sells Everglades boats, said even if the vessel doesn't sink, it could be taking on water in such high tides.

"It might be capsized upside down, which makes it very difficult for anyone to hang onto," he said.

Family members believe the men had lifejackets and flares on board, but the Coast Guard has not received a distress signal.

Cooper owns the boat, and he and Smith, who were teammates with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2004, have been on fishing trips before, according to Ron Del Duca, Smith's agent.

Coast Guard Capt. Timothy M. Close said at least one of the men was an experienced boater, and relatives provided the Coast Guard with GPS coordinates from previous fishing expeditions.

The 29-year-old Smith of Richmond, Va., is 6-foot-2, 250 pounds and had 30 tackles, including three sacks, and an interception in 12 games last season for the winless Lions.