By Kameel Stanley, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, September 18, 2010
TIERRA VERDE – The search for a swimmer who went missing earlier this week off Fort De Soto Park entered its fourth day on Saturday.
The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office resumed its work, now considered a recovery mission, by deploying a helicopter and boat to patrol the north beach area during the day shift. Another unit will search at night, officials said.
Officials have spent days looking for 29-year-old Kevin A. Persad, who disappeared at about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Coast Guard suspended its search for the St. Petersburg man later that night, but deputies have continued to search.
Persad had been in the water with two friends near the north beach when he ran into trouble.
Witnesses told authorities he was trying to swim to the southern tip of Shell Key through Bunces Pass, an east-west inlet with strong currents.
A friend called 911 when he couldn't reach him.