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Coast Guard: Sailboat 'Debris Field' Found In Gulf Of Mexico

WUSF | By The Associated Press
Published June 22, 2016 at 10:17 AM EDT

The U.S. Coast Guard says searchers have spotted a "debris field" of items belonging to a family last seen in a 29-foot sailboat off Florida's southwest coast.

Capt. Gregory Case said Wednesday that items floating in the Gulf of Mexico include a tarp, water jugs, six life jackets and a propane tank.

He says 45-year-old Ace Kimberly and his children, 13-year-old Roger, 15-year-old Donny and 17-year-old Rebecca, live on the sailboat. They left Sarasota Sunday for Fort Myers to have the boat repaired.

Case says Kimberly's brother alerted the agency on Tuesday, saying he'd last heard from the boaters on Sunday, when Ace Kimberly told him they sailing in "rough seas and thunderstorms."

The search continues. Two kayaks being towed by the boat have not been found.

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