U.S. Coast Guard

Boat captain and his dog were plucked from the raging Gulf of Mexico as Helene marched up the coast

Coast Guard aircrews rescued two adrift boaters, Sunday, after their 34-foot sailing vessel lost its sail 73 miles off Boca Grande.No injuries were reported.

The United States Coast Guard has suspended a search for a man who fell off a fishing vessel 80 miles off Sanibel Island, Saturday, pending new information.Missing is 29-year-old Sterling Grover of Palm Harbor.

U.S. Coast Guard crews from Tampa and Fort Myers were involved in the rescue of 15 people in two separate boating incidents on Saturday and Sunday in Southwest Florida waters.Seven adults and a child were rescued Saturday after their 28-foot boat boat capsized 36 miles off Boca Grande. Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg crews came to the rescue of these boaters.On Sunday, seven boaters were rescued by a Fort Myers Beach U.S. Coast Guard crew after their boat took on water during inclement weather.No injuries were reported in either case.

U.S. Coast Guard St. Petersburg is seeking information on a missing boat with four male occupants.A search for the men had been expanded into Lee and Collier county waters of the Gulf of Mexico on Monday. Coast Guard suspended the search late Monday.

The refugees were stopped by the U.S. Coast Guard after they were spotted beginning around 4 p.m. Dec. 31 and continuing until Jan. 3 in various areas off the Florida Keys.