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Coast Guard airlifts Clearwater man experiencing seizures from sailboat near Cedar Key

 
The U.S. Coast Guard airlifted Edward Dunaway, 33, of Clearwater, from a sailboat near Cedar Key on Monday after he was experiencing seizures.
The U.S. Coast Guard airlifted Edward Dunaway, 33, of Clearwater, from a sailboat near Cedar Key on Monday after he was experiencing seizures.
Published April 25, 2017

A Clearwater man was airlifted from a sailboat off the coast of Yankeetown, south of Cedar Key, on Monday after he was reported missing and was found experiencing seizures, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

Around 7:35 a.m. crews were alerted that 33-year-old Edward Dunaway and his friend, Jimmy Gibeau, were missing aboard a 33-foot sailboat after they didn't arrive in Spring Hill by Sunday at 6 p.m. as expected.

Gibeau's wife reported them missing and said the men were last seen Saturday at Clearwater Harbor Marina, officials said.

A helicopter air crew located the missing men aboard the sailboat entering Crystal River. When the men reached cell phone range, Gibeau reported that Dunaway was suffering from seizures and needed emergency medical assistance.

The Coast Guard transferred Dunaway to a Levy County EMS ambulance.

"Thankfully, these boaters gave a loved one the time of their return and their route," said officer Lawrence Costa, an operations specialist at the Coast Guard's St. Petersburg sector. "Filing a float plan with a friend or family member can be the difference between life and death when mariners find themselves in distress."