An 18-year-old from Mobile has died after entering the water from a boat in Mobile Bay near Point Clear and never resurfacing, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency. ALEA said the teen was operating a 22-foot 2007 Boston Whaler when the single-vessel incident occurred in Baldwin County on the evening of July 18. The agency has not released the teen’s name.
According to ALEA, the teen left the vessel and entered the water at approximately 7:55 p.m. but never resurfaced. Passengers aboard the boat immediately took control of the vessel and attempted to locate the teen before a broader search and rescue effort got underway.
Multiple agencies joined the search, including the U.S. Coast Guard’s Air Station Mobile, Daphne Search and Rescue, the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office and its Flotilla unit, the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ Marine Resources Division, and ALEA’s Aviation Unit and Marine Patrol Division.
The teen’s body was located around 9 a.m. Sunday, July 19, prompting a dive team to begin recovery operations. The body was recovered at approximately 9:59 a.m. ALEA’s Marine Patrol Division continues to investigate the incident and said no further information was immediately available.