On Friday March 22, 2013 at approximately 2000 hrs, United States Coast Guard (USCG) was notified of an overdue vessel. A 26 ft sailing vessel (V1) with one male operator left Manatee Bay dock at approximately 1400 hrs, in an unknown destination and was expected to return by sundown. V1 was located in Florida Bay near Shell Creek within the Everglades National Park Boundaries on Saturday March 23, 2013 at approximately 0917 hrs. V1 was unoccupied and drifting. On Monday, March 25, 2013 at approximately 1957 hrs, USCG located the deceased V1 operator in a shallow area near the mangroves that separate Buttonwood Sound from Little Buttonwood Sound within the Everglades National Park boundaries.  He was not wearing a personal flotation device. He was in advanced stages of decomposition evidenced by skin slippage. No signs of external trauma was noted. The Monroe County Medical Examiner's autopsy toxicology report indicates there was no significant trauma or significant intoxication and no lethal natural disease was found. V1 operator fell overboard sometime after navigating through Grouper Creek into Buttonwood Sound. The vessel continued to drift in a northerly direction until it reached the bank near Shell Key. Cause of death is saltwater drowning.
KEY LARGO