Body found after man and dog tried riding out hurricane on his boat, Florida cops say

A boater who tried riding out Hurricane Debby didn’t make it out alive, but his dog survived, even after the boat sank, Florida investigators say.

The body of 48-year-old Brian Clough was located submerged in his boat in the Boca Ciega Bay Aquatic Preserve about 10 hours after the storm made landfall Monday, Aug. 5, the Gulfport Police Department says.

He was reported missing around 12:34 p.m., when a passerby noticed most of the boat was under water, police said.

“Clough anchored his sailboat approximate 50 feet from Gulfport’s Veterans Park and was anchored there through (then-Tropical Storm Debby,” Gulfport police officials said in a news release.

“Also aboard the vessel was Clough’s dog. Another man from the local boating community saw Mr. Clough’s vessel had partially sunk during the late-morning hours of (Aug. 5) and noticed Clough’s dog still aboard.”

The passerby searched for Clough, but did not find him, officials said. A second search was conducted after the weather improved, resulting in a body being found inside the submerged boat around 5 p.m, officials said.

A medical examiner will determine the cause of death, police said.

The fate of Clough’s dog was not revealed.

At least four deaths in Florida have been linked to the storm, including a 13-year-old boy who died when a tree crashed into his family’s home in Levy County around 8 a.m. Monday.

Hurricane Debby had maximum sustained winds of around 80 mph when it made landfall at 7 a.m. Monday near Steinhatchee, Florida, state officials say. That’s about a 195-mile drive northwest from Gulfport, in the Big Bend area of the state.

Debby was downgraded to a tropical storm around 11 a.m. Monday, and it continued to bring heavy rain to Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

This story was originally published August 6, 2024 at 1:40 PM with the headline "Body found after man and dog tried riding out hurricane on his boat, Florida cops say."