Family thanks all involved in boater rescue effort
Coast Guard calls off search for missing men
The search for missing Fort Myers boater Randall Spivey and his nephew Brandon Billmaier was called off by the U.S. Coast Guard after sunset on Monday, three days after the search started.
The two had been missing since Friday when they left Fort Myers to go on a deep-water fishing trip. The avid fishermen had left Fort Myers at 5 a.m. and were expected to return by sunset.
At 9 p.m., the Coast Guard was notified and began a search, locating their boat at midnight approximately 70 miles off shore. The boat was in gear and moving, requiring a Coast Guard swimmer to board the vessel and turn off the engine.
The Coast Guard used boats and planes to search for the two. In addition, family and friends of Spivey and Billmaier organized search party teams to search for them by boat and by air.
The boat was returned to the U.S. Coast Guard station in Fort Myers Beach to be inspected.
“The boat doesn’t appear to have any damage,” family friend Paul Rocuant, also an attorney, said.
Fishing equipment was still on the boat and fish had already been caught, he said.
“The rods were not in the water. It may have been a medical emergency or an accident with one person going into the water unexpectedly,” he said.
Spivey was the founder of Spivey Law Firm, a personal injury practice in Fort Myers. Billmaier worked for Shiner Law Firm in Boca Raton, and was a resident of Weston.
The families of the two issued a statement through Rocuant on the decision by the U.S. Coast Guard to suspend the search on Monday at sunset. They said they understood and agreed with the decision after being briefed by Coast Guard leadership.
“The search effort has covered an area larger than the entire state of Connecticut,” the family said. “If Randy and Brandon were on the surface of the water, they would have been found,” adding that was based on the amount of resources used and the area covered.
“With that understanding, the Coast Guard has advised the family that as of sundown (Monday), the active search must be suspended. While this is heartbreaking, the family is certain this is the correct decision and holds the deepest respect, gratitude, and acceptance for it,” the statement reads.
“Randy was an attorney helping those who were injured, for over 30 years. Likewise, following in his uncle’s footsteps, Brandon was also an attorney advocating for those who were injured as well. Few people were more concerned about the safety of innocent people than Randy and Brandon. We know, without question, that they would reach the same conclusion as the experts: that everything possible has been done. They would ask that this decision be respected and that the bravery and heroism of those who searched -those in the air and on the water doing the real, dangerous work — be honored.
“This is incredibly difficult for the family and for everyone hoping for a different outcome. We respectfully ask that the decision to suspend the search be honored, both from a professional agency standpoint and from a volunteer standpoint. The search area, which is now more than 100 miles offshore, continues to move west and farther from shore, creating increasing risk, and it is no longer safe to ask volunteers to put themselves in serious danger.
“For those who know Randy and Brandon, there is no doubt this is exactly how they would feel. The family asks for your compassion, understanding, and support during this unimaginably difficult time. We love you all,” the statement reads.
Rocuant, who was involved with organizing volunteer search teams by boat, said about two dozen boats were used by volunteers to search for Billmaier and Spivey.
“We are grateful for their help,” he said.
Rocuant said the Coast Guard and U.S. Air Force used the most advanced technologies available to them including thermal imaging.
“We were with the Coast Guard for an hour where they gave a very detailed presentation of how they have used overwhelming search and rescue,” Rocuant said. He said the family was “very, very unified in respecting the efforts that have been made and we think we are going to be putting people in danger if we continue (with the search).”
Rocuant said the farther away from shore the search grew, the more dangerous it became. Boaters were traveling into the night to get back after exhaustive searches.
“The Coast Guard did a search that was bigger than the state of Connecticut. They mapped out every single sortie that was aerially done, that was done by boat,” Rocuant said.
He added the entire search area was covered multiple times by boats and sophisticated aircraft.
Spivey had been his best friend for the last 30 years since they were starting out locally as attorneys, Rocuant said.
“It’s heart-wrenching. The more important thing would be to make sure that nobody else gets hurt doing this (searching for the missing boaters), he said.
Spivey was “a man of complete integrity,” Rocuant said. “He was somebody who would always do the right thing even if no one was looking. He was extremely generous and humble. If somebody needed help, he would be the first one to help.”
Rocuant said that’s why he is not surprised so many had rushed to help in the search.
“I looked up to him,” he said. “He was very dependable.”
Spivey has a wife, son and daughter. He also has two sisters. Billmaier had just been married in the last year.
“He (Spivey) was an outdoorsman. He loved animals. His whole family loves animals,” Rocuant said.
Spivey was a supporter of the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife.
Spivey, as a personal injury lawyer “was very safety conscious,” Rocuant said. An avid fisherman, he and his son Randy had been on many fishing trips together, along with Billmaier.
According to a statement issued by the U.S. Coast Guard announcing the suspension of the search, Coast Guard crews covered approximately 6,700 square miles. The weather conditions included 10 mph winds and 3-foot seas.
“The Coast Guard diligently searched with our pilots, boat forces, cutter crews, and numerous partners,” said Lt. Amy Harrison, a search-and-rescue mission coordinator for Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg. “We saturated an incredibly large search area but, unfortunately, were unable to locate the two missing men.”
Spivey’s son Randy was helping to organize search rescue teams of volunteers over the weekend.
Randy Spivey said the family was “beyond grateful for every person who has stepped up, shared, searched, and prayed.”
Speaking before the search was called off, Spivey said his dad was an experienced boater who regularly went deep water fishing.
“My dad is a highly, highly experienced boater,” Spivey said. He said his dad has been boating “his entire life” and that he and Brandon have been doing offshore fishing with him often since they were kids. “They are two of the kindest, most selfless people I know. They are my role models,” he said.
To reach NATHAN MAYBERG, please email nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com