Coast Guard searching for missing boater off Manatee coast

Officials continue their search over a 400 square mile area for a missing boater after his boat was found near Bradenton.

The U.S. Coast Guard posted Saturday morning they are searching for Fraser Horne, 64, of Calgary, Canada. Horne’s 30-foot boat, “Golden Rush,” was found nearly five miles northwest of Bradenton, according to a tweet form the Coast Guard.

Two, a golden retriever who was reported missing with Horne, has since been found alive, a tweet from the Coast Guard announced shortly after 10 a.m. Saturday.

As of Saturday evening, the Coast Guard was still searching for Horne over a 400 square mile area spanning from Fort Desoto Park to Egmont Key to Anna Maria Island.

Horne, who spends part of the year in Cortez, was reported missing to the Coast Guard around 6:15 p.m. Friday by his wife, who told officials her husband left from Egmont Key on his boat but did not return on time, according to the Coast Guard.

A boat from U.S. Coast Guard Station Cortez and a helicopter crew from Air Station Clearwater set out to search for Horne.

The helicopter found Horne’s boat around 11:15 p.m. Friday about five miles northwest of Mead Point, according to the Coast Guard. The boat was in neutral, but the engine lights were left on.

A wallet, keys and shoes were found by a Coast Guard rescue swimmer on the “Golden Rush.”

Crews from the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Holmes Beach Police Department, Manatee County Sheriff's Office, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission are assisting in the search.

Anyone with information is asked to call the U.S. Coast Guard at 727-824-7506.

This story was originally published November 18, 2017 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Coast Guard searching for missing boater off Manatee coast."