Search ends for man who vanished kayaking with friends off Florida, rescuers say
.png "Rescue crews continue to search for Eiffel Gilyana, who went missing while kayaking off a Florida coast.")
UPDATE: Eiffel Gilyana was found dead after a three-day search, according to Task Force Hydro1, a fitness-centered nonprofit he was a part of.
Read the updated story here.
The Coast Guard is continuing its search for a man who went missing while kayaking near the St. Augustine Inlet in Florida.
Family and friends on social media have identified the man as Eiffel Gilyana.
Gilyana was kayaking with two other people when they lost sight of him around 10 a.m. Dec. 23, according to a Facebook post from the Jax Fire Dragons boat team. They found his kayak broken in half but could not find him.
Gilyana worked with the U.S. military in Iraq from 2003 to 2009, according to Action News JAX.
Cutter Tarpon boat crews searched for Gilyana throughout the night and U.S. Coast Guard crews and partner agencies continued searching the morning of Dec. 24, according to a Facebook post by the Coast Guard.
Gilyana was last seen wearing black pants with no life jacket or shirt, according to the Coast Guard. Anyone with information is asked to call U.S. Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville at 904-714-7561.
The St. Augustine Inlet is about 40 miles southeast of Jacksonville.
This story was originally published December 24, 2023 at 11:00 AM with the headline "Search ends for man who vanished kayaking with friends off Florida, rescuers say."
