A paddleboard belonging to Luciano Mercenari, the 29-year-old man reported missing since Monday, was found by a good Samaritan eight to 11 miles offshore between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.
Mercenari was last seen entering Pines Canal near Key Biscayne at approximately 5:15 p.m. on Monday. He began his paddleboarding trip at Cape Florida on an aqua and orange paddleboard, wearing a light gray, long-sleeved rash guard and gray sports shorts.
Recovery of his paddleboard and a gear bag early Wednesday morning has intensified ongoing search efforts by U.S. Coast Guard air and surface crews, alongside to local police departments.
Miami-Dade Police air units were also seen conducting search-and-rescue operations near Pines Canal on Tuesday morning.
U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Diana Sherbs stated, “We deployed a small boat from Station Miami and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter to continue daytime searches, around 8 a.m. this morning.”
On Wednesday morning, Sherbs said that the search area now stretches North and East from Miami to Lake Worth. They are focusing on using aerials to aid in the search.
Authorities, including a Broward Sheriff’s Office K9 unit, were seen near Mercenari’s family home as part of the expanded search.
Sherbs expressed hope for a positive outcome.
“We’ll continue to search until we’ve exhausted all resources and leads,” she said.
In videos posted on TikTok, Mercenari’s cousin urged the public for help in an effort to track him down.
“He went paddleboarding off the coast of Key Biscayne, and he hasn’t made it home. We have a search party looking for him, but it’s been over 24 hours and every minute counts,” she said.
One of the TikTok videos focused on a trackable smartwatch that Mercenari was wearing when he got lost. She hopes social media can galvanize enough people and pressure to find him.
“He was wearing this watch from the brand Garmi, potentially follow his location,” said the woman on social media. “We’re trying to understand if there’s anything, anything we can do, because this could literally save Lucio’s life.”
On Wednesday night, his cousin reported a possible sighting off Boynton Beach when a man was tracked drifting with an orange buoy. The Coast Guard sent a crew to the area, but nothing was found.
The family is reaching out to the watch company in hopes that it leads them to finding their missing loved one.
Efforts to locate Mercenari remain ongoing. Anyone with information should contact 305-535-4300 immediately.
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