PANAMA CITY BEACH — The body of a missing man who swam after an untethered boat has been found after a massive search effort, authorities said Monday.
Search and rescue teams found the body of Mark Digesu, 47, of Walton County, on Monday morning in the southwest corner of Lake Powell, according to a Bay County Sheriff’s Office news release. Digesu’s body has been turned over to the medical examiner, but no foul play is suspected.
Digesu was reported missing about 2:30 p.m. Saturday when his girlfriend, Lisa Keller, and her son called 911 after losing sight of him as he swam from the shallows out to his boat. The pontoon boat had been anchored to the flats near Pinnacle Port, but Digesu, Keller and her son realized the boat had detached from the anchor and was floating away, according to law enforcement reports.
Digesu began to swim out to the boat and Keller realized a few minutes later the boat still was drifting but Digesu could not be seen.
Keller told authorities several men on personal watercrafts approached her, asking if she owned the pontoon boat. She said her boyfriend had “gone in after it,” and they told her they had found the boat floating, abandoned, and moored the vessel to a Phillips Inlet Bridge abutment.
Digesu was not on board.
Digesu was adept at numerous facets of water activities and a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, according to Bay County Sheriff’s Office reports.
He “knew what he was doing on the water,” Keller told authorities.
Digesu had been the owner of Panama City Beach Offshore Guide Kayaking from 2007 to 2011, spending a large amount of his time on the water, according to his LinkedIn account.
“After kayak fishing for three years straight, I now guide in Hobie adventure island rigs … top of the line and have gone 5 miles offshore,” Digesu wrote.
However, Keller told officials Digesu recently had sustained a leg injury, about which he was complaining. Several friends, including James Tindall, of the Panama City Beach Code Enforcement Department, assisted in search efforts. Tindall said Digesu was a “smoker” and he complained of pain caused by a knee injury.
Multiple agencies also set out on a search by sea and air for Digesu after receiving the call Saturday.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, the Walton County’s Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, the Panama City Fire Department Dive Team, Bay County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, Florida State University Underwater Crime Scene Investigation Program, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard all participated in the search.
The search spanned late Saturday and from sun-up to sun-down Sunday before locating Digesu’s body early Monday morning.
An earlier version of this story is posted below:
PANAMA CITY BEACH — The body of a missing swimmer has been found, authorities said Monday.
The body of Mark Digesu, 47, of Walton County, was found Monday morning in the southwest corner of Lake Powell, according to a Bay County Sheriff's Office news release. Digesu's body has been turned over to the medical examiner, but no foul play is suspected.
Digesu was reported missing about 2:30 p.m. Saturday when his friend and son called 911 after losing sight of him as he swam from the shallows out to his boat. The pontoon boat had been anchored near shore, but Digesu, his friend and her son realized the boat had detached from the anchor and was floating away, according to the news release.
Digesu began to swim out to the boat and his friend realized a few minutes later that the boat still was drifting and Digesu couldn't be seen.
The Bay County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, the Walton County’s Sheriff’s Office Dive Team, the Panama City Fire Department Dive Team, Bay County Sheriff’s Search and Rescue, Florida State University Underwater Crime Scene Investigation Program, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Comission and the U.S. Coast Guard all participated in the search effort.
Check back later for more details