An Alabama man is still missing days after his boat capsized. Search and rescue are looking for the man, but with each passing day, the hope of his rescue is diminishing.
The man had been on a boat with another adult and a 2-year-old. The trio were floating down the Blakey River in Spanish Fort, Alabama over the weekend. That's when the vessel ended up capsizing. No one has seen the man since the three of them fell in the water.
"The adult male and the two-year-old were able to make it safely to shore," said the Spanish Fort Police Department. "However, the second adult male remains missing."
At this time, police chose not to identify the missing Alabama man. However, Fox affiliate WALA spoke with the Alabama man's family, who identified him as 40-year-old John DeJonge. His brother David spoke out about the man's disappearance, describing him as a loving father of two. Spanish Fort Police Chief John Barber said that engine trouble contributed to the capsizing.
"When they were working on the engine, the boat actually capsized," Barber said, WALA reported. "All three of the individuals ended up in the water."
Alabama Man Still Missing
"The father and the two-year-old were able to make it back to shore swimming with the boat as a flotation and then made it to the causeway where they waved down help. We received a phone call after 7:15 last night," Barber said.
He expects it to be a recovery mission.
"It's February. The water is cold. Time in the water is crucial and we know with the young child that his body core temperature was dropping really quickly and so had he been in the water much longer, it would have been very challenging."
