Tampa Police locate body in search for missing boat captain

At approximately 7:42 a.m. on Sunday, December 17, 2023, the Tampa Police Department received multiple reports of a shrimp boat being submerged underwater in the 2600 block of Causeway Boulevard.

Tampa Officers arrived on the scene and located a 63 ft vessel named “Miss Jordi” underwater. The vessel also leaked thousands of gallons of diesel fuel into the water. 

The boat’s captain, Curtis Lee Cowling, was last seen on 12/16/2023 at 11:00  
p.m. Cowling and was listed as “Missing and Endangered.”

Due to the amount of diesel fuel contaminating the water that is currently being treated  
as a HAZMAT scene, preventing dive teams from entering the water. 

The United States Coast Guard is leading the HAZMAT efforts. HCSO is also working with Tampa Police to resolve the issue quickly. 

On Sunday, December 17th at 10:28 P.M. divers with the Tampa Police Department located and recovered a body on board the submerged vessel. Release of information is pending next-of-kin notifications.

Clean-up efforts are still being conducted by the United States Coast Guard. The spill was successfully contained in the Mccay Bay area.

This incident is still under investigation, and any further information will be released through the Tampa Police Department’s Public Information Office.