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Fayetteville man drowns after boat capsized in Gulf

By LEE WILLIAMS
lwilliams@TheCitizenNews.com

Friends, family and business associates are mourning the loss a beloved Fayette County businessman and a Riverdale man who drowned Thursday in Florida when their boat capsized while fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Julian Lee Jr., 50, of Mallard Creek Lane, Fayetteville, and his longtime friend, Dennis Herring, climbed into Lee’s 27-foot fishing boat dubbed, “My Girl Too,” and set out to catch a load of King mackerel. However, the tumultuous seas, which reportedly climbed to 6 to 8 feet that day, thwarted their plans, authorities said.

Lee, a commercial and industrial property owner who owned the Lee Center on Bethea Drive off of Ga. Highway 314, was vacationing with his wife, Donna, and other family members, at the time of the accident.

“Mr. Lee called his wife around 1 p.m. Thursday at their Destin, Fla., condo before going out fishing with Mr. Herring,” said Stan Kirkland, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “That was the last contact with either man.”

Lee’s partially submerged boat was found Thursday. His body was found at 9:10 a.m. Friday. Herring’s body remained at large at press time.

The U.S. Coast Guard received a distress signal from the vessel’s emergency position-indicating radio beacon about 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Shortly thereafter, an extensive search began.

“A small craft advisory had been issued Thursday afternoon and we don’t advise small boats to go out into the Gulf,” Kirkland said. “For whatever reason they decided to go out and the first indication that there was a problem was at 4:22 p.m. Thursday.”

At 5:30 p.m. Thursday, a rescue helicopter crew from the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans found the boat about one mile south of the Destin Pass. The vessel was uprighted and towed back to shore.

Crews continued to scan the seas searching for two men, but their efforts also were thwarted. Seas in the Gulf swelled to 6 to 8 feet and the wind whipped at 20 to 25 knots, authorities said.

“It was so rough, we had to turn back,” Kirkland said.

Rescue crews continued the search Friday.

During the mission, Coast Guard officials spotted Lee’s body. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials recovered the body, which was turned over to the Okaloosa County, Fla. Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy.

Autopsy results were unavailable Monday. However, the cause of death appeared clear.

“At this point, it appears they both died as a result of a drowning, but an autopsy will have to say for sure,” Kirkland said.

Crews comprised of officials from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Okaloosa and Walton County sheriff’s departments and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission continued to search for Herring’s body.

Coast Guard crews completed 21 searches totaling 2,200 square miles — an area larger than the state of Delaware, in hopes of finding Herring. On Saturday, the Coast Guard called off the search.

“We have conducted an exhaustive search of the area and are suspending our active search pending the development of new information,” said Lt. Steve Cory, Eighth Coast Guard District search and rescue controller in New Orleans. “The cause of the incident will be investigated by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.”

Kirkland confirmed Monday his agency has not abandoned its search.

“We have scaled back our search, but we are still looking,” Kirkland said Monday. “In fact, we have a pilot scheduled to fly out today.”

The news of Lee’s death devastated many who described him as a likeable guy who adored his family. But despite the tragic news, Lee’s mother, Betty Lee of Fayetteville, said she has found comfort.

“We are awfully hurt,” his mother said when reached at Lee’s former home. “But the Lord has given me a lot of peace because I know he’s with the Lord.”

Betty Lee dismissed reports that her son ignored a small craft advisory warning advising him not to enter the Gulf. She said it was upsetting to hear negative reports such as these.

“It wasn’t like they said it was,” Betty Lee said. “There were so many reports floating around. There were a lot of small boats and big boats, too.”

The family had a small ceremony in Destin in honor of the two men. Betty Lee said she was touched by the things people said about her son, who died just three years after his father, a late dental technician who founded Lee Dental Laboratories in Atlanta.

Julian Lee’s father-in-law Eugene Clark of Fairburn said his son-in-law led a full life. He leaves a wife, three children; two grandchildren; and a host of family and friends to cherish his memory.

Clark said Julian Lee was a “good boater,” who was almost a “captain” as far as boating goes. Borrowing the words of Okaloosa County, Fla. sheriff officials, Clark said the incident was a “freak accident.”

“This is one of those things that you can’t plan for,” Clark said.

Clark agreed that Lee lived a full life and added that his son-in-law, the avid fisherman and boater, died doing what he liked to do best.