January 12, 2026

Uncle, 57, and Nephew, 33, Missing After Disappearing on a Fishing Trip, Family Says They’re ‘Heartbroken’ as Search Continues

Two men vanished on a routine fishing trip. Their 42-foot boat was found drifting, empty, 70 miles off Florida’s coast. Families are begging for help. The Coast Guard is scouring the Gulf day and night, but the ocean is vast, and time is slipping away.

What began as a simple Friday fishing trip from a quiet Fort Myers neighborhood has become a nightmare stretching across the Gulf. Randall Spivey, 57, and his nephew, 33-year-old attorney and firm president Brandon Billmaier, never returned home. Hours of silence turned into panic as calls went unanswered, and by nightfall helicopters thudded into the darkness, searching open water.

Their powerful 42-foot Freeman was eventually discovered adrift, eerily empty, about 70 miles offshore. No life jackets bobbing nearby, no distress call recorded, just a silent vessel and a growing ache onshore. Brandon’s wife, Deborah, has turned to social media, offering a reward and pleading for boats, planes, and eyes on the water. The Coast Guard has flooded the area with aircraft and surface crews, urging volunteers to coordinate so they don’t hinder the search. For now, hope is all the families have—and they refuse to let it go.