5:14 p.m.: The only man rescued so far from an overturned boat in the Gulf of Mexico told Coast Guard investigators a bizarre story about the fate of the other three. Nick Schuyler, 24, told investigators that about two to four hours after their boat capsized Saturday in rough seas, one of the two professional football players gave up hope and let himself be swept away, according to family members of two of the missing men. A few hours later, the second one did the same. "We were told that Nick said the two NFL players took their life jackets off and drifted out to sea," said Bob Bleakley, whose son Will, 25, is also still missing. With former Tampa Bay Buccaneers Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith gone, only Schuyler and Bleakley remained clinging to the boat. Then, sometime Monday morning, Will Bleakley thought he saw a light in the distance and decided to take off his life jacket and swim to it, hoping to get help. "I think he was delusional to think he could swim someplace," Bleakley said. Ray Sanchez, Cooper's cousin, said the Coast Guard told him the same thing, but cautioned against taking Schuyler's story as gospel at this point. "We're not 100 percent sure where his head was at," Sanchez said. "He'd been through a lot." ---Craig Pittman and Brant James, Times staff writers Got this off the Falcons MB who got it off the Bucs MB so I don't have the actual link, of course now people on the Falcons MB think that the survivor killed the remaining 3.
wow, that is crazy. who knows the validity of that but still i can picture it playing out in my mind.
Wow, if Nick really told that story to authorities, it makes it sound like he did something. First off why would they take off their life jackets? NFL players, with so much to live for, take off their life jackets and drift away because they lost hope?? SUSPICIOUS!!
maybe the effects of the hypothermia were understated? it's night time and the water is 60-ish. that was probably pretty cold and, if they didn't keep moving (legs kicking or curling up in a ball to preserve body warmth), i could see them succumbing earlier rather than later. combine that with some possible salt-water intake...it makes people do strange things. one guy goes swimming off to a light source at night? that sounds like what some of those USS Indianapolis sailors did after drinking the water. those sailors would swim off thinking they see something...never to be seen again. they would swim down deep thinking their going to a restaraunt or something....never to surface. still....2 to 4 hours before giving up. i have a really hard time buying that. why would you swim away from the boat without even giving the rescue till the next day to find you...unless conditions were much worse for these guys than has been stated? clearly, they were not going to be rescued that night. just bizarre. it also hasn't been mentioned but i wonder if those guys were drinking alcohol?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/03/03/florida.missing.boaters/index.html Looks like they will organize a private search. It does sound strange that the players simply just gave up hope! Why would they? Drinking salt water can make people delusional so I wouldn't think too much of it.
Aren't there some kind of low frequency beacons for boats? Something that floats and emits sounds? Maybe someone could invent one and have them attached to a life jacket etc....? DD
1) Has anyone seen the story referenced in print, or just on that message board? 2) He managed to flip the boat, kill 3 other grown men AND manage to not lose his ability to stick to the boat in a rough ocean? Come on folks... 3) It's very easy to get disoriented and delusional when you are in water. If they were swallowing salt water I could easily see them just giving up. 4) This guy is potentially whacked out right now, so there's no telling what he said, to who, and whether he really meant any of it or if it's just a delusion his mind has created.
Why are you guys surprised that they let go of the boat? Doesnt mean they gave up hope and quit...Imagine clinging on to a boat and having massive waves continually nailing you. Its cold, you're swallowing some salt water, and its exhausting holding on. Its not like its an easy thing to do. Plus, consider the fact that the NFL players were a DE and a LB. Big dudes with lots of muscle mass. Its a lot tougher getting oxygen to those muscles than it is for, say the guy that got saved...if you look at the video, although he seemed like he was in great shape, he looked to be a lot leaner than the NFL guys. Those conditions couldnt have been easy and staying with it for 4-6 hrs is a ton more difficult than it may seem. Not to mention that they were scared out of their minds, so Im sure lots of panic set in and their thought process was skewed. Sad, sad story.
yea, i agree. there's easier ways to set up a murder AND without putting your own life at risk. really, who will capsize their own boat in the middle of the ocean and "hope" they are rescued?
Not to mention, what's in it for the murderer? Its not like he will be gaining financially from it. Terrible theories people come up with...it sucks for this guy that is alive...he has to deal with nonsense like this.
They make GPS devices that attach to life jackets or can be used in these situations. They start as low as $200 from what I've seen. This is about these guys not being prepared for this contingency. If you are going into the deep sea, then the boat should have a GPS beacon for sure. Then, it would be wise to have a life raft or life jacket with one as well. these guys could afford it...they just didn't plan for the worst. it sucks that people would go into the deep sea so unprepared but they did and it cost them the ultimate price.
Hypothermia makes you do strange things. Paradoxical Undressing... This might have something to do with them taking off their life vests.
That reminds me exactly of the Life of Pi. I Didn't care for the book much, but your last two points just brought back how eerie something like that can be
Well they did say they found a cooler. Not to jump to conclusions but 4 buddies out in the sea, fishing, drinking some beers perhaps? Makes sense.
yea...they were saying an average person could survive 18-24 hours in that water temperature. but, what they didn't state was that the hypothermia process starts pretty much right away. with those waves thrashing and the wind gusting, i bet you those guys were really cold. obviously, that one survivor climbing up onto the hull and straddling the engine i'm sure helped him survive because he wasn't submerged much at that point. i seriously doubt all 4 of them were up on top of that hull. they were in the water. i wonder at what point the survivor got up there like that. it was a smart move. i wonder if he got up there while the others were still in the water the whole time? i would be very interested to hear his entire story of the events. i'm not sure we will ever get all the details, though.
Give me a break. Not every single thing that happens is some conspiracy. We've never been in that situation before so we can speculate all we want but we really don't know. Being in a "hopeless" situation can effect everyone differently. Doesn't matter if you're a NFL player or a ballerina. We can talk all we want about what we would or what they could have done, but until you're stranded in open water with no land around you, you really don't know.
