Body of missing boater found

HAULOVER, Fla. (WSVN) -- Officials and family members have identified the body of a boater who went missing while fishing in rough surf this Columbus Day.

The Coast Guard along with Florida Fish and Wildlife officials began their search for 21-year-old Angel Bello early Monday morning. "We spent all morning searching for the young man," said Jorge Pino, spokesperson for the FWC.

Eight hours after he went missing, at around 1 p.m., officials found Bello's body. Bello's brother and father tried to help by search the jetty by ground. "Unfortunately, we had to notify the father and brother that their lived one passed away," Pino said.

Officials said Bello and Jonathan Rodriguez, 30, were aboard a small boat on a fishing trip when it capsized as they were leaving the Haulover Inlet and out into the Atlantic ocean. According to officials, the two men went out on a 17-foot boat, around 5 a.m. After the boat capsized, officials said, Rodriguez managed to swim to shore. He had to strip his clothes off because it was weighing him down.

Officials had hoped they would find Bello alive, and the survivor even helped in the search. "The investigator thought it was a good idea to bring out the surviving member of the fishing trip," Pino noted, "and he put us right on the spot where he thought he last saw his friend alive, and from that point on we put divers in the water, and we were able to find him shortly thereafter."

Unfortunately, Bello would not be found alive. FWC officials caution that fishing in the inlet is dangerous, as large waves come into the inlet as the bay spills out to the Atlantic, creating a rough wake no small boat can properly sustain. "That cut is notorious for being pretty aggressive as you're going out," said Pino.

Neither of the men were wearing life vests.

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