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Rescuers find body near Courtney Campbell Causeway that could be missing boater's

 
Crews tie up the rental boat after the boater went missing Friday near the Courtney Campbell boat ramp. He was trying to free his rental boat after it ran aground on a sand bar, but then he disappeared under the water.  Multiple agencies searched the waters off of the Courtney Campbell Causeway but had not found him by sunset. [LUIS SANTANA  |   Times]
Crews tie up the rental boat after the boater went missing Friday near the Courtney Campbell boat ramp. He was trying to free his rental boat after it ran aground on a sand bar, but then he disappeared under the water. Multiple agencies searched the waters off of the Courtney Campbell Causeway but had not found him by sunset. [LUIS SANTANA | Times]
Published Oct. 22, 2016

TAMPA — A body was found Saturday morning in the water near the Courtney Campbell Causeway, close to where a boater went missing Friday, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conversation Commission.

Rescuers "located and recovered a body in the general area the boater went missing," FWC Officer James Boogaerts said.

It was not clear whether the body belongs to a boater who slipped into the water late Friday afternoon, Boogaerts said.

The boater, who has not been named, was in a rental boat with a passenger when they hit a sandbar, officers said. He jumped into the water to try to free the boat, then went under.

He resurfaced twice as the boat drifted. Then he disappeared, Tampa police said.

The passenger called 911 at 3:21 p.m. Friday.

Tampa police sent a boat and divers to aid the search. Tampa Fire Rescue, the Coast Guard and Clearwater police also dispatched vessels to search for the missing man.

FWC took over the investigation Friday night.