Debris found on Florida coast believed to be part of boat that was carrying 3 missing fishermen

ORLANDO, Fla. - Parts of a boat that was carrying three missing boaters have turned up in Flagler County. The 31-foot fishing boat Carol Ann departed the port city of Brunswick, Georgia, on Oct. 14 with its captain, Dalton Conway, and two crew members, Caleb Wilkinson and Tyler Barlow.

The Coast Guard began searching on Oct. 20 after the boat’s owner reported the fishermen, who had planned to fish in waters 80 miles off Georgia's coast, failed to return on schedule. No one had heard from them since they left the dock. Rescuers scoured waters from Florida to Virginia and searched a total of 94,000 square miles, but the search was abandoned two weeks later.

The search picked up no distress beacon from the boat. A Coast Guard spokesperson previously said the Carol Ann was equipped with an emergency transmitter designed to send a signal if submerged in water automatically, but it was later determined the boat's distress beacon required manual activation.

Tips of possible sightings of the Carol Ann by other boats failed to yield any breakthroughs.