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Search efforts have led to the body of a boater missing since Saturday according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Jefferie S. Rector, 28, of Blountstown, was on a 15 foot boat with Mark Hamilton, 29, of Marianna. The two were traveling about a mile South of Chattahoochee on the Apalachicola River when their boat hit a wake and threw them from the vessel. Neither man was wearing a life jacket and Rector was said to have been hit by the unmanned boat. Hamilton was safely pulled from the water.
A recovery team located the body of Rector, an offshore oil worker, Monday morning. The Bay, Liberty, Jackson and Gadsden County Sheriff’s Offices as well as the Chattahoochee Police and FWC all assisted in the search.
The following was released by the FWC:
Body recovered from the Apalachicola River
Searchers today recovered the body of a Blountstown man who disappeared in the Apalachicola River Saturday after a boating accident near Chattahoochee.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Lt. Gary Applewhite said the body of Jefferie S. Rector, 28, Blountstown, was found near where the accident occurred. The accident occurred approximately 1 mile south of the Chattahoochee boat landing.
FWC Investigator Tony Brunson said Rector and Mark Hamilton, 29, of Marianna, were headed north on the river Saturday afternoon in a 15-foot aluminum boat, powered by a 75-horsepower motor, when they attempted to go around a navigation buoy. Brunson said it’s unclear exactly what happened, but as they made a sharp turn, the vessel hit a wake or “something” that caused both men to be ejected.
Neither man wore a life jacket.
Hamilton told officers, after he and Rector were ejected, the boat began circling wildly and struck Rector. Hamilton was pulled from the river by a fisherman who was nearby.
Rector’s body has been turned over to the medical examiner’s office in Panama City.
I respect your opinion but it is a proven fact that life jackets save lives just as seat belts save lives. A properly sized life jacket has saved many a boater’s life and was a huge part of my experience as a young child with a parent who owned a boat. I was taught to respect the water and to be aware of the mishaps that can occur while on the water. If you are truly a friend of the family you will understand how important it is to warn others about boating safety in the hopes of preventing another tragic situation like this. No disrespect was intended to this family.
i feel sorry for his family for someone this young to lose his life.it keeps coming up that both men weren’t wearing life jackets,but if he was struck by the boat,it probably wouldn’t of mattered whether he was wear one or not.it was a tragedy but not a senseless tragedy. before you leave a comment get the full story and get all of your fact together! A personal friend of the family.
“Neither man wore a life jacket.” I pray for his family. What a senseless tragedy.
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I fully understand that life jackets are important and save lives but what I was saying is that in this specific situation it would not have saved his life.