Two Players Reportedly on Missing Boat
UPDATED (4:14 p.m.)…
Two NFL players, defensive end Corey Smith of the Detroit Lions and linebacker Marquis Cooper of the Oakland Raiders, are among four people on a fishing boat reported missing off the Gulf Coast of Florida, according to broadcast and print reports in the Tampa area.
The reports, citing Coast Guard officials, say that the four people left the Clearwater, Fla., area on a 21-foot fishing boat around 6:30 a.m. Saturday.
The boat is believed to be in distress, according to the reports. The waters there in the Gulf of Mexico reportedly are extremely choppy and Coast Guard crews are searching a 750-square-mile area for the boat.
Search efforts began about a half-hour after the boat was reported missing at 1:30 a.m. today, the Tampa Tribune reported.
Both Smith and Cooper began their NFL careers with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Ron Del Duca, Smith’s agent, told the Associated Press that Smith owns the boat and had been on fishing trips previously with Cooper, a former teammate.
“They’ve assured me that they’re deploying all available resources to look for these guys and get them back,” Del Duca told the AP.
Smith, 29, is a Richmond native who played at North Carolina State in college. He played for the Buccaneers from 2002 to 2004, and had a stint with the San Francisco 49ers before joining the Lions in 2006. He played in 12 games for Detroit this past season and now is a free agent.
Cooper, 26, played for the Buccaneers in 2004 and 2005, and also spent time with the Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks and Jacksonville Jaguars. He played in eight games for the Raiders this past season.
[...] The Tampa Tribune has the names of two of the NFL players who have been reported missing on a boat off the coast of Clearwater, Florida. They are linebacker Marquis Cooper of the Raiders and defensive end Corey Smith of the Lions. Read More|||Horrible news being reported – Former NC State defensive end and current Detroit Lion, Corey Smith, appears to be one of the NFL players aboard a fishing boat that is missing in the ocean. Link to Tampa article just updated in the last Read More|||Dave Birkett of the Oakland Press is reporting Lions defensive end Corey Smith is missing in the Gulf of Mexico as of this morning. Birkett has spoken with Smith%26#39;s agent, confirming the story. Just got off the phone with Ronald Del Duca Read More|||Lions defensive end Corey Smith, Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, and two others are missing in the Gulf of Mexico. The four friends left in a fishing boat at around 6:30 am Saturday, and they haven%26#39;t been seen since. Read More|||Corey Smith is known to be a tough NFL player as he holds the defense end in Detroit Lions the last time he played. On the other hand, Marquis Cooper is a strong Oakland Raiders linebacker. Both Corey, 29 years old, and Marquis, Read More|||Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith and Oakland Raiders linebacker Victor ‘Marquis’ Cooper are among four people reported missing at sea in the Gulf of Mexico off Florida. The four left for a fishing trip 6:30am Saturday morning Read More|||The foursome: Detroit Lions defensive end Corey Smith, Oakland Raiders linebacker Victor ‘Marquis’ Cooper, Nick Skyler and William Bleakley didn’t return from their Saturday fishing trip. According to Smith’s agent Ron Del Duca, Read More|||The Coast Guard is searching the Florida Coast in search of a fishing boat that contained Oakland Raiders’ Marquis Cooper and Detroit Lions’ Corey Smith. They went out of Clearwater Pass Saturday morning and never returned. Read More|||corey smith wiki, marquis cooper, victor marquis cooper, corey smith nfl, nick skyler Corey Dominique Smith (born November 2, 1979 in Richmond, Virginia) was an American football defensive end for the Detroit Lions of the National Read More|||Two NFL players, defensive end Corey Smith of the Detroit Lions and linebacker Marquis Cooper of the Oakland Raiders, are among four people on a fishing boat reported missing off the Gulf Coast of Florida, according to broadcast and Read More [...]
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