Photo: CBS 12
The body of a missing boater has been recovered from a Martin County waterway.
Chief Deputy John Budensiek says 74-year old James Summer, a seasonal resident from Indiana, was trying to secure his boat to a dock at Hosford Park in Stuart around 5 p.m. Tuesday. That's when the man jumped in to swim over to the boat.
"His boat continued to drift away from him. Once he got to the boat, the boat is an older boat that he was unable to to reach up and grab and hold onto."
Budensiek says Summer lost his battle to stay above water. His wife, who was on the pontoon-style boat, called a friend who reached out to 911.
The search started Tuesday night but was suspended until Wednesday morning due to alligators spotted in the water.