Search ends for CSU student presumed dead in Florida

ST. PETE BEACH — Authorities in Florida have stopped searching for a Colorado State University student and a yacht crew member who went missing in choppy Tampa Bay-area waters.

The Coast Guard said Thursday evening that it had ended the search for 27-year-old Andrew Dillman of New York and 21-year-old Jie Luo of China. Both men are presumed dead.

Friday morning, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office announced that deputies had shifted gears from running a search and rescue mission to attempting to recover the bodies of the two missing swimmers.

The two men had been missing since Tuesday evening. Authorities said 15 college students chartered the yacht, and Luo was among five who jumped from the boat to swim off Shell Key.

Authorities said Dillman jumped into the water when he saw Luo was struggling in the swift currents. Neither man wore a flotation device and were pulled away from the yacht by the strong current.

The Coast Guard said search efforts spanned three days and nearly 1,600 square miles off Florida's Gulf Coast.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Jie Luo and Andrew Dillman,” said Capt. Holly Najarian, Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg commander. “Suspending a search is the most difficult decision I have to make in my position, and despite our best efforts, we were unable to reunite Andrew and Jie with their families.”

Luo was one of 14 CSU students who boarded the 71-foot Sea Ray vessel "Jaguar" for a Tuesday cruise on the waters that link Tampa Bay with the Gulf of Mexico. Yacht captain Todd Davis told officials he instructed the students not to jump in the water due to conditions that included a riptide warning.

Coast Guard officials on Thursday said the agency had launched an investigation into the circumstances of the two men's disappearances.

A recovery operation will continue until dusk Sunday, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in a news release. Land, sea and air resources will be used to search for the bodies of Luo and Dillman. After Sunday, sheriff's deputies will conduct extra land and water patrols, with air patrols conducted when available.

Luo's presumed death would be the first accidental death of a CSU student on spring break since 2010, when Larissa Hartman and Katelyn M. Henning died in separate car crashes.

University President and Chancellor Tony Frank, aware of the potential dangers that accompany students celebrating spring break, cautioned students to "make smart choices" in a campus email sent March 10.