HAULOVER BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - The search for a missing boater following a crash at Haulover Beach has continued into the night.
U.S. Coast Guard officials received a distress call at around 2 a.m. Thursday that three people were on a boat when it struck the Haulover sandbar.
All three boaters were thrown into the water from the impact of the crash.
The U.S. Coast Guard recovered two of the boaters who are said to be OK.
Police have not revealed their identities but said one was a woman.
The third boater, identified as 27-year-old Zack Forte, remains missing hours after the crash.
The search was suspended for some time overnight Thursday but picked back up when the sun came out.
7SkyForce HD hovered over the scene where a Miami-Dade Fire Rescue boat, helicopter and a Miami-Dade Police boat could be seen assisting in the search for the missing boater as well.
The search has also brought out a drone, divers, other boats and personal watercrafts to help find the man.
“The problem here are the currents, the tides,” said Sergio Papatolios with Haulover Point Marina Store. “They change so fast.”
Papatolios said when he came into work at around 6 a.m., he saw the USCG searching the water and what he believed to be one of the victims sitting by the docks.
“She was in shock, so she couldn’t answer questions really,” he said. “She was talking with the Coast Guards, but when we went to offer her some water or something, she wouldn’t talk. She was in shock.”
Forte was reportedly wearing a red and gray tank top at the time of the incident.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials are investigating.
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