By Danny Valentine, Times Staff Writer
Friday, September 17, 2010
TIERRA VERDE — Pinellas County deputies will continue searching this morning for a St. Petersburg man who went missing while swimming off Fort De Soto Park this week.
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended their search for Kevin A. Persad at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday but deputies continued their own search. They plan to put another boat in the water Saturday morning to look for the missing swimmer, said sheriff's spokeswoman Marianne Pasha.
"It's no longer a search and rescue, it's more of a recovery mission," said Sgt. Tom Nestor.
Persad, 29, was in the water with two friends near the north beach when he disappeared at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to authorities. One of the friends, Michael Moyer, used his cell phone to call 911, deputies said.
Witnesses told authorities Persad was trying to swim to the southern tip of Shell Key through Bunces Pass, an east-west inlet with strong currents.
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