The US Coast Guard suspended its two-day search for a missing Splendora man near Port O’Connor Tuesday night, two days after a family fishing trip went terribly wrong.
Bobby D. Alexander, Jr., 38, took his 13 and 17-year-old sons fishing on Sunday, but only the boys made it back to dry land.
When the trio had not arrived home by 9:30 p.m., Alexander’s wife, Alexa, contacted the Coast Guard Station at Port O’Connor. They, in turn, contacted area law enforcement and asked them to try and locate Alexander’s truck and trailer.
It was approximately 10 p.m. when the Matagorda County Sheriff’s Office reported finding the pickup and the trailer used to haul the 19-foot boat at Matagorda Harbor.
Around 10:30 p.m., employees from an offshore oil drilling rig contacted Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi stating that they could see a boat with three occupants near their rig that was taking on water and eventually capsized.
The teens were safely hoisted from the water, but Alexander disappeared from view before his would-be rescuers were able to reach him with a “life ring” and hoist him from the water.
Coast Guard crews flew the boys from the drilling rig to Port O’Connor where they were reunited with their mother.
Ultimately, a 41-foot Coast Guard boat, a rescue helicopter, an 87-foot patrol boat, a cutter, and a jet were dispatched to the location to search for Alexander.
After 47-hours, the search was suspended.
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May 23, 2009
UPDATE: A body that washed up on a shore near Corpus Christi a few days ago is believed to be that of missing EMC man Bobby D. Alexander, Jr.
