On Saturday, November 15, 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Venice Police Department (VPD) rescued eight people after their 26-foot boat became disabled about 35 miles west of Venice, Florida. The incident started when VPD Marine Officer Brett Woodworth received a report from the boat captain’s family about an overdue vessel. The group had left the Marina Park Boat Ramp on Venice Avenue on the morning of Friday, November 14, and was believed to have exited the Venice Inlet soon after.
Local authorities formed a Marine Emergency Response Team (MERT) that included VPD, Venice Fire Rescue, Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office, Sarasota Police Department, Sarasota County Fire Department, SeaTow, and Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. VPD Master Police Officer Paul Joyce coordinated local resources. Officer Woodworth and Detective Fred Thiessen collected more information from the family to support the search.
The Coast Guard led the offshore search and assigned search patterns to each agency. The search began in the afternoon. All MERT units reported no findings after searching their areas. During the operation, a social media video from the boat’s captain showed a compass heading of 220–230°. This information was given to Coast Guard planners and helped narrow the search area…