EAST PALATKA, Fla. (AP) - Sheriff's officials say the search for a 9-year-old north Florida boy missing after being knocked from a boat during a fishing trip has become a recovery mission.
Jonathan "Tate" Ricks and a 50-year-old family friend were tossed into the St. Johns River on Saturday evening when a larger boat hit their 14-foot vessel. The crash occurred near the U.S. 17 Memorial Bridge in East Palatka.
Officials said Sunday that preliminary investigations indicate the boy wasn't wearing a personal floatation device.
The Florida Times-Union (http://bit.ly/1H78EEg ) reports the man tried unsuccessfully to help the boy but lost him in the water. The man made it to shore and was taken to a hospital.
Officials searched by air and boat.
