Missing Paddleboarder: Search Underway for Fort Walton Beach man
UPDATE (10:30 a.m.12/25/15) – The missing man is believed to be a 51-year old John Andrew Frye from Fort Walton Beach.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office is continuing to do checks of the shoreline along Okaloosa Island in hopes of finding Frye, who disappeared while paddleboarding yesterday morning behind the Boardwalk on Okaloosa Island.
The paddleboard washed ashore and a woman who had seen a man on it moments earlier called 9-1-1 around 10:38 a.m. yesterday.
ORIGINAL STORY – A search is underway in the Gulf of Mexico and along the shoreline of Okaloosa Island after witnesses reported a man paddleboarding behind The Boardwalk this morning disappeared in heavy waves.
The paddleboard washed ashore and a woman who had seen a man on it moments earlier called 9-1-1 around 10:38 a.m.
The missing man is believed to be a 51-year old Fort Walton Beach resident who friends say is a paddleboard enthusiast and extremely fit.
The Coast Guard is currently searching waters off shore while Okaloosa County Beach Safety crews are checking the shoreline.