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FORT MYERS, Fla. (BFMG) — Family and friends are urgently searching for two men who disappeared during a fishing trip off the Southwest Florida coast Friday morning, as the U.S. Coast Guard continues a large-scale search effort.
U.S. Coast Guard officials said they are leading the search for Randall Spivey, 57, and Brandon Billmaier, 33. The Coast Guard confirmed Saturday morning that the men’s boat was found about 70 miles offshore, but no one was on board. The search remains ongoing.
Spivey is a prominent Fort Myers attorney and the president and founder of the Spivey Law Firm, according to the firm’s website. Billmaier, who lives in Weston, is also an attorney, family members said. Spivey is Billmaier’s uncle.
The men left around 6:30 a.m. Friday from a home on the 15000 block of Intercoastal Court in Fort Myers, family said, planning to fish about 100 miles offshore.
“I received a morning text from Brandon telling me that he would be back Friday night and that he loved me very much,” said Deborah Billmaier, Brandon’s wife. “And we didn’t hear back.”
The men were expected to return around 5:30 p.m., she said. When they did not return, family members contacted the Coast Guard about two hours later.
Tricia Spivey, Randall’s wife, said her husband is an experienced and safety-conscious boater who has fished for more than 30 years.
“He’s an amazing husband, an amazing father,” she said through tears. “He’s gotta come home.”
Deborah Billmaier said the Coast Guard contacted the family around 1:30 a.m. Saturday to report the boat had been located without anyone aboard.
“It’s been a nightmare, feels like I’m in a horror movie,” she told FOX 4. “When I got the call from the Coast Guard saying they found the boat and no one was on board, I don’t even know — I think I blacked out for a couple seconds.”
Family and friends gathered Saturday morning at the Spivey family’s Iona home, where the men began their trip. The residence sits on a small inlet near the Caloosahatchee River.
Friends are coordinating a volunteer search-and-rescue effort and are asking boaters and pilots to assist. The Coast Guard, however, cautioned against uncoordinated efforts.
“Uncoordinated crews operating in the search area can create unsafe conditions and hinder response efforts,” the Coast Guard said in a statement from its Southeast District. Boaters and aircraft pilots are urged to monitor Channel 16 and report pertinent information to Sector St. Petersburg at 866-881-1392.
Paul Rocuant, a close friend of Randall Spivey for more than 30 years, said he remains hopeful.
“They’re coming home,” Rocuant said. “We gotta keep a positive attitude and we gotta get those assets out there.”
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office also issued a missing persons alert. Authorities described Spivey as a 6-foot-1 man with brown hair and brown eyes, and Billmaier as a 6-foot-2 man with strawberry-blond hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at 239-477-1000, 911 if it is an emergency, or SWFL Crime Stoppers at 1-800-780-TIPS to remain anonymous.
