The body of a missing fisherman was found weeks after his empty boat was discovered adrift near a California marina, deputies said.
During a Christmas Day fishing trip in San Pablo Bay, William Hady Chebib, 32, of Petaluma, told his family that he was returning to the Black Point Boat Launch in Novato around 3:30 p.m., a press release from the Marin County office said. from the sheriff.
However, he never returned, the sheriff’s office said, and his boat, Lil LB, was found empty near Point San Pablo around 11:30 a.m. the next day, McClatchy News previously reported.
Multiple agencies, including the United States Sheriff’s Office and the United States Coast Guard, searched the area, the sheriff’s office said. Efforts to find Chebib were shelved after he was not found during an “extensive search”.
Nevertheless, family, friends and volunteers continued to search for Chebib, according to Facebook posts from his family.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the apparent drowning of our son, brother and close friend Will Chebib,” a family member wrote on Facebook Dec. 28. those who love him so much.”
Weeks later, “a volunteer aquatic search group, California Recovery Divers,” which had searched for Chebib multiple times since his disappearance, found his body about a mile “east of the Hamilton Wetlands in the waters of San Pablo Bay” on Thursday, Jan. 1. 12, the sheriff’s office said.
“Will, you are so loved,” a friend wrote on Facebook, while also thanking everyone who helped search for Chebib.
Chebib’s cause of death and manner of death are pending, the sheriff’s office said.
Novato is located about 30 miles north of San Francisco.
Empty boat found in search for fisherman who disappeared over Christmas, CA sheriff says
Missing fisherman found dead after his tracks led to a hole in the ice, riot police officials say
Beloved grandfather’s car and remains found a year after his disappearance, Georgia officers say
