FLORIDA KEYS, Fla. – A 79-year-old man died Wednesday while searching for lobster at the Bahia Honda State Park in Big Pine Key, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
William Michael Biddle was snorkeling when he let go of the rope tied to an 18-foot Hurricane Deck boat that Roger Dean Hope, 73, was operating, according to the FWC report.
Doctors at Fisherman's Hospital in Marathon pronounced him dead.
"The FWC would like to express our sincere condolences to the victim’s family during this time," FWC spokesman Rob Klepper said.
Authorities said the man's death was the first of the two-day lobster mini-season, which ends at midnight on Thursday.
Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue found a teenage boy who got separated from his father.