A body recovered in Perdido Bay near Blue Angel Recreation Park was identified by the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office as Brandon Nicholson, the area boater who had been missing since mid-September.
Deputies confirmed the identification after the discovery, closing out a weeklong search. Nicholson was last seen around 10:30 a.m. on September 16 on his boat near the 500 block of Riola Place, just hours after Hurricane Sally came ashore along the Gulf Coast.
According to his family, Nicholson had been at his mother’s house in the storm’s aftermath when a pontoon boat broke loose and drifted away. He set out on a jon boat to go after it and never returned, prompting an extensive search of the bay and surrounding waters by deputies and volunteer rescuers.
Nicholson leaves behind his wife Stephanie and two children. Family members described him as a selfless, caring man who always put others first — the person they called the rock of the family.