V1-  was traveling east bound when the operator of the vessel struck a dredge pipe that was underwater causing damage to the lower unit. 
There was two occupants on the vessel, the operator and a passenger. 
No one was injured during the accident. 
While at the Marina I met with OP1, who was operating the vessel at the time of the accident. While talking to the son, he stated to me that he took his friend out.
OP1, stated to me that they went out fishing and they headed back at approximately 1930 when he was traveling east bound coming around Tigertail Beach about 50-100 yards from the beach when he hit a dredge pipe causing his motor to stop working. OP1 also stated that they drop anchor to assess the damages and seen that the lower unit of the vessel was missing. 
OP1 called for a friend to come tow the vessel back to the residence and while waiting for the tow another vessel hit the same dredge pipe, but there was no report of another boating accident involving the vessel hitting the dredge pipe. Nobody was injured during the accident. During that time, it was an outgoing tide, and the tide was about an hour from its lowest tide.
On April 23rd, 2023, FWC went to the accident site approximately the same time and tide to assess the location for hazards.  FWC Ofr advised me that he was unable to locate any dredge hazards in the water, low visibility and big swells.
On April 25th, 2023, I visited the crash site myself to see if I could locate the dredge myself.  The tide was high and still incoming, and I was unable to locate the dredge pipe or any other underwater hazards. 
On that same day I spoke with a person who worked for the dredging company, and they stated to me that on the day on the accident their equipment was inside the Marco River.
After riding in the general area of the accident I was unable to locate any dredge pipe besides the one that was coming from off the beach (see pictures). The dredge pipe coming from the beach had small orange buoys about ten feet apart indicating that it was there. 
On April 29th, 2023, I went back out to the accident site to try to locate the dredge pipe but was unsuccessful with finding anything again. 
On May 5th, 2023, I spoke with WITNESS who had been unavailable due to unrelated medical until this date.  WITNESS account of the boating accident that evening was consistent with OP1 (operator) with the exception that he believed they were further off the beach - approximately 400 yards. 
During my investigation I was unable to locate the dredge pipe or any other underwater obstructions at the location provided by the operator, that would cause damage consistent with the lower unit being torn off.

GULF
MARCO ISLAND                  