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Search underway for missing boater

Posted at 6:08 PM, Nov 28, 2015
and last updated 2015-11-28 18:08:50-05

The Coast Guard and local agencies are looking for a 48-year-old Southwest Florida man who was reported missing Friday night in the Gulf of Mexico.           

Crews found Jeffrey Reinhardt's boat 12 miles west of Naples around 4:45 a.m. Saturday morning.  Coast Guard Tampa Spokesperson David Schulein says the keys were still in the ignition and a life jacket was missing, indicating Reinhardt may have left the boat.

The Coast Guard, along with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Collier and Lee County Sheriff's Office are searching an area 25 by 30 square miles.

Schulein says this is still an active search, but the longer Reinhardt is in the water the greater chance he has of suffering from hypothermia.