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Old 09-03-2011, 07:34 AM
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BananaTom BananaTom is offline
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Default Missing Gulf Breeze man's boat found, empty, near Mexico

Thank you for your prayers Salty Cajun. The Tears of Tropical Storm Lee will fall for days Lee Kent.

http://www.pnj.com/article/20110903/NEWS01/109030310/Missing-Gulf-Breeze-man-s-boat-found-empty-near-Mexico?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

A fishing boat belonging to a Gulf Breeze man missing in the Gulf of Mexico for nearly a week was recovered off the coast of Mexico on Friday, but no one was on board, according to a Mexican newspaper.

The Monkeybar II, owned by Lee Kent, 41, of Gulf Breeze was found floating near Chuburna, a town on the Yucatan Peninsula, the Progreso Hoy reported on its website.

A fisherman found the boat and towed it into port. Its two Mercury outboard engines were in working order, the website reported.
An official with the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed Friday night that Mexican authorities are holding the boat pending an investigation.
The newspaper's website published two photos of the boat alongside a dock in Chuburna.

Kent's brother, Lionel Kent, had just received word Friday evening that the boat had been found when contacted by the News Journal. He said his brother never travels to the Yucatan.

"He went fishing 100 miles out. All he was doing was going fishing," Lionel Kent said. "He was abducted by these (expletive) pirates. Either that, or he fell off the boat and it kept going."

Lee Kent worked as a salesman for United Rentals, according to business associate Chris Cox, president of Pen Gulf Inc., a Pensacola-based industrial contractor.

Cox and Kent had lunch the week before Kent disappeared, and Kent often talked about his boat with Cox. Kent and his wife, Kim, have two children, Cox said.

The Coast Guard on Tuesday called off its search for Kent, who went fishing alone in his 37-foot Boston Whaler in the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday and never returned. He was expected home that evening for his birthday party, Coast Guard officials said.

The Coast Guard covered more than 28,000 nautical miles in 47 hours by air and sea in the search.

Lionel Kent said the craft contained about 300 gallons of fuel when his brother left from Little Sabine Bay last Saturday. He said that much fuel might carry the boat as far as 500 miles at trolling speed.

He added that while boating with his brother, Lee frequently would say the boat was getting about a mile to the gallon. The Yucatan Peninsula is more than 550 nautical miles from Pensacola.

Lionel Kent said he has been trying to hire a charter pilot to resume an air search for his brother since the Coast Guard called off its operations. But because Tropical Storm Lee was in the Gulf, none would take the job, he said.

"I don't care what the hell I have to do. Somebody's going out there," he said.

Last edited by BananaTom; 09-03-2011 at 07:50 AM.
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