A Good Samaritan found a paddleboard matching the description of one belonging to a man missing off the coast of Jupiter, the U.S. Coast Guard reported.
Matt Pawlowski was last seen heading east about 4 miles off Jupiter Beach at about 9 a.m. Monday, Sept. 14. The 48-year-old was reported missing when he didn't return to shore later that day.
The Coast Guard said Pawlowski rode a 14-foot lime-green-and-yellow paddleboard. A boater spotted the recovered one floating in the ocean about 10 miles offshore near Jupiter Island, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed.
Few personal details were immediately available about Pawlowski, for whom law-enforcement agencies continued to search at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 16.
According to a published report, Pawlowski is an
executive at NextEra Energy, the company parent of Florida Power & Light, in Juno Beach. A company spokesperson said its policies prohibit confirming whether someone works there or releasing any details about an employee.
The North Palm Beach Rowing Club identified Pawlowski as a member and made a post on its Facebook page asking for the public's help in finding him. Another member, who declined to give his name, said Pawlowski has been with the club for about two years and described him as an excellent rower.
The search for Pawlowski has involved air and sea crews as well as multiple agencies beyond the Coast Guard, including the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and Jupiter police.
The Coast Guard is asking anyone with information regarding the paddleboarder's disappearance to call its Sector Miami location either at 305-535-4472 or 305-535-4372.
It is the second search involving a paddleboarder in the waters off Jupiter in the past month.
In August, Jupiter Middle School teacher Kevin Burns died after getting caught in an ocean current while snorkeling. Burns and a friend had taken their paddleboards about a half mile offshore to a reef, secured them and then entered the water to snorkel.
After getting caught in the current, Burns' friend managed to swim to shore but lost sight of Burns.
A sheriff’s helicopter found Burns in the water north of the reef where the men had secured their paddleboards. He died at Jupiter Medical Center.
Julius Whigham II covers northern Palm Beach County and public safety for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Paddleboard found as search for man missing off Jupiter hits third day
