Corey Dominique Smith
(born October 2, 1979, in Richmond, ; missing March 1, 2009, presumed dead March 6, 2009) was an American football defensive end who was a free agent. He was originally signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2002. He played college football at North Carolina State.
Smith also played for the San Francisco 49ers and Detroit Lions.
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Boating incident and disappearance
On March 1, 2009, the
United States Coast Guard reported that a 21-foot fishing boat was missing off the
Gulf Coast near
Clearwater Pass, Florida. The boat was reportedly carrying four passengers, including Smith,
Marquis Cooper; a member of the
Oakland Raiders, as well as Nick Schuyler and Will Bleakley; former
University of South Florida football players. The four men left Clearwater Pass on February 28 at 6:30 a.m. and were expected to return later that night. The Coast Guard began searching for the missing boat shortly after midnight on March 1, 2009. By 1:35 p.m. EST on March 2, 2009, the boat was located, overturned, with Schuyler clinging to it. The other three passengers were not found. According to Schuyler, Cooper separated from the group at 5:30 AM, with Smith disappearing about an hour later. 24 hours later, Bleakley became unresponsive, and despite Schuyler giving him CPR, he also disappeared. Schuyler was found less than six hours later.
The search for the three men who remained missing ended at sundown on March 3, 2009.
[1] Friends and relatives organized a private search
[2] which was called off several days later.
[3]
Smith's family has established the Corey D. Smith Memorial Scholarship Fund in his honor. The Detroit Lions held a memorial service for him on March 21, 2009.
[4]
The Detroit Lions announced they will retire Smith's #93 during the 2009 season in honor of him.
[5]
An investigation by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission determined that the incident was caused when the vessel was improperly anchored and the boat capsized after one of the its passengers tried to throttle forward in an attempt to pry loose the anchor.
[6]
References
- Coast Guard to End Search for Missing Boaters CNN, March 3, 2009
- Search suspended. Friends and family to organize private search
- Private search called off
- Lions to Hold Memorial for Missing Boater ESPN.com, March 20, 2009
- [1]
- Report: Boat not properly anchored