TAMPA, Fla. — The family of a shrimp boat captain who was found dead after a powerful Gulf storm blew through over the weekend is looking for help from the community.
Curtis Lee Cowling lived on the shrimp boat full time and his body was found onboard the submerged boat around 10:30 p.m. Sunday, according to the Tampa Police Department.
Now, his family is trying to get his body back to Virginia. A GoFundMe page was made to help with funeral and memorial costs as well.
There's a goal of $11,000 to be raised.
"CeCe died in a boating accident in Tampa Florida, where there was a storm that caused his boat to sink," Cowling's cousin, who created the fundraiser, wrote on GoFundMe.
Authorities earlier said they found the 63-foot shrimp boat named "Miss Jordi" underwater Sunday morning in the McKay Bay area following several reports of the vessel seen taking on water.
Cowling was last seen around 11 p.m. Saturday. It was around this time winds in the Tampa Bay area gusted to nearly 30 mph at times, with light to heavy rain reported.
Thousands of gallons of diesel fuel spilled into the water, Tampa police said. Its cleanup is being handed by the Coast Guard, whose crews were able to contain it to the immediate area, authorities added.
10 Tampa Bay's Andrew Krietz and Leo Santos contributed to this report.