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SEARCHERS LOCATE BODY OF COMMERCIAL
FISHERMAN
October 31, 2006
CONTACT: Capt. Donald Duval (850) 697-3764
Just after 1 p.m. Tuesday, searchers found the
body of 71-year-old commercial fisherman Duane Martina of
Apalachicola next to his boat on the Apalachicola River.
Law enforcement officers had been looking for
Martina since late Monday night when his family advised he was
overdue from running his crab traps. Martina was last seen
Monday morning on the river just north of Apalachicola.
A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission (FWC) helicopter spotted Martina’s 15-foot boat 20-30
feet off the river in saw grass about three-fourths of a mile
north of town.
“The motor was in neutral and tilted out of the
water. We can only surmise, but it appears he had run his boat
up in the saw grass, had gotten out of it and was trying to push
the boat back to the river when something happened,” said FWC
Capt. Donald Duval. “We’ll know more when an autopsy is
complete.”
The search involved the Franklin County
Sheriff’s Office, FWC, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service and numerous family members and friends of the Martina
family.
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