Nick Schuyler Found Clinging To Lost Fishing Boat

UPDATE: Report Reveals Sad Details of Boating Tragedy

The boat carrying four passengers, including NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, which was reported missing from a fishing trip early Sunday morning, was found by the Coast Guard on Monday morning with a survivor, Nick Schuyler, clinging to it.

UPDATE (Mar. 3): The search for the remaining boaters has been suspended by the Coast Guard. This comes after Schuyler reportedly told investigators that Cooper and Smith had discarded their life jackets and floated out to sea.

Schuyler was described in serious but stable condition. He was found wearing a life vest 35 miles off the Clearwater coast and helicoptered to Tampa General Hospital.

According to the St. Petersburg Times, Schuyler, a former University of South Florida football player, was discovered with the boat about 30 miles west of the Tampa Bay area. The find occurred during an exhaustive search by the Coast Guard that covered 16,000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico.

Stu Schuyler, Nick's father, described Monday's news: "Like God heard me." He was clearly emotional when discussing his son's future on Sunday.

Schuyler also told 10 Connects the first time his son went fishing with Cooper and Smith was last weekend. That trip lasted fifteen hours.

"I was worried sick and told him never to do that to me again," said Schuyler. "Now, I'm hopeful but still expecting the worst." Through tears, he added, "[My son is] my life, I don't know what I'll do.

There have been no further reports regarding the status of the boat's other three passengers.

Mystery Off Gulf Coast

AT SEA - MARCH 2: In this handout from the U.S. Coast Guard, Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida football player, is lifted aboard a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter after being rescued from a capsized boat March 2, 2009 in the Gulf of Mexico, off the Coast of Florida. According to reports, four men, Schuyler, former South Florida football player William Bleakley, Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith left on a fishing trip Saturday morning and did not return. The three other men are still missing. (Photo by Adam Campbell/U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Nick Schuyler

Getty Images

AT SEA - MARCH 2: In this handout from the U.S. Coast Guard, a Coast Guard boat approaches Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida football player, as he sits on a capsized boat March 2, 2009 in the Gulf of Mexico, off the Coast of Flordia. According to reports, four men, Schuyler, former South Florida football player William Bleakley, Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith left on a fishing trip Saturday morning and did not return. The three other men are still missing. (Photo by Adam Campbell/U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Nick Schuyler

Getty Images

AT SEA - MARCH 2: In this handout from the U.S. Coast Guard, Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida football player, sits on a capsized boat March 2, 2009 in the Gulf of Mexico, off the Coast of Flordia. According to reports, four men, Schuyler, former South Florida football player William Bleakley, Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith left on a fishing trip Saturday morning and did not return. The three other men are still missing. (Photo by Adam Campbell/U.S. Coast Guard via Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Nick Schuyler

Getty Images

A U.S. Coast Guard crewmember reaches out for a transport basket to pull a man they identified as Nick Schuyler into a helicopter after rescuing him from the waters in the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of St. Petersburg, Florida March 2, 2009 . The U.S. Coast Guard rescued Schuyler on Monday, one of four boaters missing in the Gulf of Mexico since Saturday, and continued the search for two National Football League players and another man. REUTERS/U.S. Coast Guard/Handout (UNITED STATES). FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

Reuters

U.S. Coast Guard Captain Timothy M. Close (C) meets with reporters outside the U.S. Coast Guard Station in St. Petersburg, Florida, to discuss the search for three missing boaters in the Gulf of Mexico March 2, 2009. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued Nick Schuyler on Monday, one of four boaters missing in the Gulf of Mexico since Saturday, and continued the search for National Football League players Corey Smith and Marquis Cooper, and former Florida college football player William Bleakley. REUTERS/Steve Nesius (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

U.S. Coast Guard Captain Timothy M. Close meets with reporters outside the U.S. Coast Guard Station in St. Petersburg, Florida, to discuss the search for three missing boaters in the Gulf of Mexico March 2, 2009. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued Nick Schuyler on Monday, one of four boaters missing in the Gulf of Mexico since Saturday, and continued the search for National Football League players Corey Smith and Marquis Cooper, and former Florida college football player William Bleakley. REUTERS/Steve Nesius (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

Friends and family members of missing boaters NFL players Corey Smith, Marquis Cooper and former Florida college football player William Bleakley wait at the dockside of the U.S. Coast Guard Station in St. Petersburg, Florida March 2, 2009. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued Nick Schuyler on Monday, one of four boaters missing in the Gulf of Mexico since Saturday, and continued the search for Smith, Cooper and Bleakley. REUTERS/Steve Nesius (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

Ray Sanchez, whose cousin NFL football player Marquis Cooper is one of three missing boaters, talks with reporters outside the U.S. Coast Guard Station in St. Petersburg, Florida March 2, 2009. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued Nick Schuyler on Monday, one of four boaters missing in the Gulf of Mexico since Saturday, and continued the search for two National Football League players and another man. REUTERS/Steve Nesius (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

Ray Sanchez, whose cousin NFL football player Marquis Cooper is one of three missing boaters, talks on a cell phone at the U.S. Coast Guard Station in St. Petersburg, Florida March 2, 2009. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued Nick Schuyler on Monday, one of four boaters missing in the Gulf of Mexico since Saturday, and continued the search for two National Football League players and another man. REUTERS/Steve Nesius (UNITED STATES)

Reuters

A man identified by the U.S. Coast Guard as Nick Schuyler (L) sits atop an overturned boat as Coast Guard crewmembers speed towards him in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of St. Petersburg, Florida March 2, 2009. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued Schuyler on Monday, one of four boaters missing in the Gulf of Mexico since Saturday, and continued the search for two National Football League players and another man. REUTERS/U.S. Coast Guard/Handout (UNITED STATES). FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS.

Reuters