Crime & Safety
Clearwater Coast Guard Conducts Air Search for Missing Boater
A man dove into the water to rescue children being pulled out to sea by a rip current. He never made it back to the boat.
The Coast Guard Air Station in Clearwater has launched two helicopter crews to search for a missing boater last seen trying to rescue children from a rip current.
Brian Kowalski, 39, dove into the water Monday to help two children being towed on a rope behind the boat, after a rip current started pulling them out to sea, the Tampa Bay Times reports. Kowalski was boating near Johnson Key in South Florida.
The children made it back to the boat, but Kowalski is missing, according to the Coast Guard. Kowalski is from Trinity, FL.
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Kowalski's 10-year-old daughter called 911 to report that her father dove into the water but never returned to the boat. She had last seen him being pulled out to sea.
The Coast Guard quickly activated helicopter crews in Clearwater and boat crews from Marathon. The searched continued through Monday night, with no sign of Kowalski.
Find out what's happening in Clearwaterwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
On Tuesday, the Coast Guard station in Miami sent out an aircraft. The Coast Guard has also requested assistance from a U.S. Navy helicopter crew from Naval Air Station Boca Chica.
The Coast Guard asks boaters to contact Coast Guard Sector Key West at (305) 292-8727 with any information related to the case.
[Updated: 3:20 p.m., Tuesday.]
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