Office of External Affairs
U.S. Coast Guard

Date: April 14, 2008

Contact:  PA3 Mario Romero
(713) 578-3080

COAST GUARD SEARCHING FOR MISSING BOATER SOUTH OF FREEPORT 

HOUSTON - The Coast Guard is searching for a man in a 14-foot boat who went missing south of Freeport, Texas, Sunday evening.

A watchstander at Coast Guard Sector Houston/Galveston received a phone call at 8:21 p.m. Sunday from the Surfside Police Department requesting assistance. The girlfriend of Anthony Drake had called the Surfside Police Department and reported he had departed from Beach Access Road 1 in Surfside at 2 p.m. Sunday to go fishing at an oil rig he could see from the beach, and had not returned by sunset.

A rescue helicopter crew from Air Station Houston, a rescue boat crew from Station Freeport, and the Surfside Police Department and family searched for Drake until 4:30 a.m. today. The search resumed at first light.

Drake is a 26-year-old, Hispanic male, 5-feet 7 inches tall, approximately 140 pounds, last seen wearing a white shirt and khaki pants. The boat is a 14-foot, aluminum hulled boat, either blue or green, with a 15-horsepower engine onboard.

If anyone has any information about Drake, they are requested to contact the Coast Guard at (713) 678-9057 or the Surfside Police Department at (979) 239-1151.

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U.S. Coast Guard - Saving lives since 1790