# Missing Angler in San Antonio Bay



## Capt. Chris Martin

I talked with Captain David McClelland this morning at the lodge, and according to Captain David "I was on a guided fishing trip early Friday morning, and while running down the ICW out of Seadrift we approached a stranded 25 foot Majek Extreme. I noticed the boat was up against the rocks with no anchor or power pole down. Also the key was in the on position, and boat was in gear, but the boat was not running. According to Captain David, I found two wallets and cell phone on board. Fishing rods were on the boat - but with not anglers around." I asked a few more questions to Captain David, "I called the Coast Guard and Game Wardens." It wasn't very long afterwards and he noticed the Coast Guard had jet and helicopters out searching. Also the Game Wardens were out looking as well.

As of Saturday morning, we haven't heard any news.

Here is a link from the Victoria news station

http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2014/apr/12/missing_boater_bm_041214_237123/?news&local-news

If anyone has more information on this situation, we would like to know.

Thanks

Captain Chris Martin


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## Fowl Play

Sad to hear


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## rsparker67

The missing angler is Monty Scruggs. He also is the owner of Happy Hour offshore fishing boat, he a regular in the offshore fishing tournaments. He apparently decided to leave port oconner at about 9:30 Friday night and head to port aransas. Sad news


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## patwilson

Prayers sent....


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## sotexhookset

Not good at all. Prayers sent and hope that they locate him soon in good health.


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## CKALLTHEWAY

prayers sent


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## rusty2009

prayers sent


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## unc_jaws23

*Any word?*

Capt. Martin-
Any word????


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## fultonswimmer

Oh my Gosh! I first thought this was an old thread about the fisherman from Seadrift who was never found. Hope this fellow turns out to be just stranded somewhere or picked up by another boater.


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## OnedayScratch

Out today and the wind was howling. I hope they're OK. Wind and big swales can reek havoc.


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## Capt. Chris Martin

Small airplane was flying in area for around an hour mid-day today. The Game Warden Truck was still out at Swan Point boat ramp around 4:20 PM today. Still haven't heard any news.


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## railbird

Bad news. Hope he made it to cover. Any news on who might have been with him?


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## Smackdaddy53

fultonswimmer said:


> Oh my Gosh! I first thought this was an old thread about the fisherman from Seadrift who was never found. Hope this fellow turns out to be just stranded somewhere or picked up by another boater.


That other guy was found. That is a different story.

http://www.fishingscout.com/scouts/SmackDaddy


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## [email protected]

Smack - Are you talking about the guy they said might have been eaten by an alligator last summer?


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## Agwader

Terrible, doesn't sound like we'll hear anything good at this point.


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## DRILHER

The missing person is Monte Scruggs of Aransas Pass.


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## Tall Texan

Sad deal ,prayers sent


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## Smackdaddy53

My buddy Storyteller on here is an aquaintance of his and was out all day searching San Antonio Bay and Seadrift area and nothing came up. Details are sketchy. He says it was an SCB he was driving.

http://www.fishingscout.com/scouts/SmackDaddy


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## Capt. Chris Martin

*Victoria Advocate Newspaper April 12, 2014*

The search for a 48-year-old man whose boat was found unattended near the Victoria Barge Canal continues.

The name of the man has not been revealed, but officials with the Corpus Christi Coast Guard say a passer-by came across the boat with its engine running Friday morning about 7:30 a.m.

As of 6 p.m. Saturday, the man had not been found, a U.S. Coast Guard official said.

Boat crews from stations in Port O'Connor and Port Aransas were launched immediately Friday morning along with a Dolphin Helicopter and Falcon Jet from an air station in Corpus Christi, according to a news release.

"The Coast Guard and our partner agencies are committed to the search effort, and we continue to saturate San Antonio Bay with a multitude of assets," said Lt. Cmdr. Kristi Bernstein, Corpus Christi search and rescue mission coordinator.

Coast Guards officials continued to search the air through the evening Friday and resumed Saturday morning.


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## Tigeraggie85

Thank you for the update, Capt. Chris.


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## Calfroper81

Man that is just horrible. Praying for him and his family.


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## Pasquale06

Prayers sent to them and there families. I hope all turns out well.


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## rsparker67

KRIS news just reported his body being found. Sad deal. Condolences to his family.


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## JFolm

I hate to hear that. Prayers being sent.


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## tunchistheman

http://www.crossroadstoday.com/cont...Be-Missing-Fisher/fV0koUkUHkqH6FjLaCHjUA.cspx
Sad news. R.I.P.


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## Smackdaddy53

Prayers for him, his family and friends.

http://www.fishingscout.com/scouts/SmackDaddy


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## Bubba Likes It

RIP Monty. Sad day!!


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## Jeff Atchley

Very sad news. Prayers sent


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## misscoley

Prayers sent


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## Copano/Aransas

Prayers Sent.


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## Crow's Nest

As I drove by the ramp in Seadrift today I noticed a gathering of about 15 people whom appeared to be grieving. Then I saw they were gathered around a Mejak and it hit me. 

So sad.

Prayers for all.


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## Dukiball

God bless his family & friends


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## jerkyourcroaker

Dukiball said:


> God bless his family & friends


Indeed. God Bless them all.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Seadrifted Ag

*Bless us all*

Sad day for his family and the 2cool family....condolences for all and may God's hand be on us all each time we go out on the water.


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## boltmaster

Condolences to the family, sad new

Have the authority's speculated on what may have happened


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## bigfishtx

The secong man that was found alive cannot be revealed?

This story is confusing. 

RIP Monte.


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## jjtroutkiller

Was there a second person on the boat?


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## johndoughy

This is unsurprising, but still sobering. Such a small world, this guy went to my church. That's a consolation for me, at least.


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## railbird

It's my understanding they backtracked on his GPS and from their speculations, the boat likely struck a reef near marker 13 in San Antonio bay. Is anyone familiar with those channel markers who can pinpoint marker 13 on a map?


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## livintofish

Prayers Sent


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## pocfishin

Very sad news. I cannot pinpoint Marker 13, but my recollection is it is near a spoil island called Little Bird Reef on Google Earth. Approx 1.5 miles South of the intersection of the ICWW and Victoria Barge Canal.


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## unc_jaws23

*So sad*

Thoughts and prayers. Please be careful, this man has years of experience on the water. Never know what can go wrong out there.


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## tspitzer

is there any funds set up for him yet?


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## troutsupport

Sad news... RIP brotha, prayers to the family. 
t


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## aguaflaca

prayers for the family. I'm still waiting to get the whole story too. 
Marker 13 is just about where Panther Reef would hit the ICWW.


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## railbird

The gap in panther is only about 500' wide there. A very sad outcome. Prayers sent for all involved.


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## Capt. Chris Martin

*Very Sad - Prayers Sent*

We watched this unfold yesterday it was heartbreaking. Prayers sent to the family and all his friends.

The following Information provided by the US Coast Guard:

A Coast Guard MH-65 helicopter crew located a body, Sunday, which fits the description of a man missing since Friday morning, in San Antonio Bay.

At 3:50 p.m., a Coast Guard aircrew spotted a body on the west side of San Antonio Bay, then guided a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department boat crew to the location. TP&W recovered the body.

The Coast Guard in conjunction with TP&W, Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and numerous good Samaritans searched more than 46 square miles from Sun Down Bay to Port O'Connor utilizing surface and air assets from Station Port O'Connor, Station Port Aransas and Air Station Corpus Christi before locating the body Sunday afternoon.

"Our thoughts, prayers, and deepest condolences are with the family," said Lt. Cmdr. Kristi Bernstein, the search and rescue mission coordinator at Sector Corpus Christi. "We are deeply saddened by the outcome today. The circumstances of this case are unclear, but boaters need to always be prepared for any situation when out on the water. Wearing a life jacket and having a marine band radio will greatly assist in our search efforts if something does go wrong."

The body will be turned over to the local sheriff's office for a positive identification. The body was identified by next of kin at the coroner's office. TP&W continues to investigate the accident.


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## Stetson22

Prayers sent to the fishermen and their families


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## WillieT

Very sad. Prayers for the family and friends.


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## bigfishtx

jjtroutkiller said:


> Was there a second person on the boat?


Talked to some folks that are in the know, the man was alone in the boat.


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## DCAVA

Terrible deal.

Prayers for the family.


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## Greatwhite

This is very sad news. A friend told me about it while I was at a wedding in seadrift Saturday evening. But when he said the name I was utterly speechless, just a week before I had met Monty. Turns out we had some common ground and he was a really cool gentleman to talk with. 

I'll have to saw a few extra prayers tonight.
I'm still speechless. Everyone be safe out there.


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## txdukklr

Prayers to the family . . . . terrible news


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## Mrschasintail

He was a 2cooler? So very sad!! Prayers for the family?


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## corykj

I knew him from work. He ran a directional drilling company out of Aransas Pass, Isaacks. I just talked to him just the other day too about some profiles they did for us. He was a good man, one hell of a driller and an outstanding fisherman. RIP brotha, you will be missed.


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## tspitzer

so sad--make you really think about using the kill switch and life jackets.

God Bless his Family and Friends-


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## Blk Jck 224

angelsm


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## FisherofMen1

*So Sad*

My condolences to the family. This is never the kind of news that we want to hear but, it is part of what we do. Be Safe!!

http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?p=7508969#post7508969


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## aguaflaca

latest from Victoria Advocate. 

Officials confirm identity of body found near Victoria Barge Canal
Story by Melissa Crowe

Originally published April 14, 2014 at 5:45 P.M., updated April 14, 2014 at 10:42 P.M.

Texas Game Wardens are investigating the death of an experienced angler whose body was found Sunday near the Victoria Barge Canal.

Monty Scruggs, a 48-year-old Aransas Pass resident, was thought to be fishing alone in the San Antonio Bay when something went wrong.

"From talking with friends and family members, we know he was a very experienced mariner," Capt. Rex Mayes, a game warden, said Monday. "He fished a lot of tournaments off-shore and in the bay. We're looking at a lot of different things to find some answers as to what might have happened."

Investigators are using Scruggs' Garmin GPS system, which was attached to his 25-foot black-and-tan pleasure craft boat, to determine his route from that fatal evening, Mayes said.

"We're hoping to maybe get out there and look at some of these waypoints after this northern passes and see if we can find some place that there's residue of gel-coat from the boat where this individual might have struck an object in the water," Mayes said.

Rescuers found no life-jacket or personal flotation device on the man, Mayes said.

Rescue workers began searching at 7:25 a.m. Friday, continuing through the weekend after a passer-by notified the U.S. Coast Guard of an abandoned boat near the Victoria Barge Canal.

The boat was left running not far from Turnstake Island along the Victoria Barge Canal, near marker 16, and a wallet was found inside, Mayes said.

Stations in Port O'Connor and Port Aransas were called to help, and a helicopter from the Corpus Christi Coast Guard assisted.

"We're very fortunate to have the military here in our backyard to have their assets in the air," Mayes said.

The victim's friends and family and fishermen and guides pooled resources, including aircraft and personal boats to assist in the search, he said.

Butch Hodges, a Seadrift resident, and Jonny Giles, of the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, also assisted, Mayes said.

Justice of the Peace Nancy Pomykal pronounced Scruggs dead on the scene. An autopsy has been ordered.

Scruggs had been employed 20 years at Isaacks Directional Drilling in Corpus Christi, according to LinkedIn.


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## slabseeker

Sorry to here about this. I always try to find some one to go with me when I do go fishing, just because of this . but I know we cant allways sometimes. I will defiantly ware mine from now one if I'm by my self. there's always a positive side to all this. maybe it will safe a live in the future. prayers to his family and friends. I hope they find out what exactly happened so the family will have closer. amen brother and rest in peace....


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## Zeitgeist

Sad indeed. It seams he was very experienced. Be careful out there brothers. Prayers sent.


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