Friends worried about other local man missing with ship

BOKEELIA, Fla.–The  search for the 33 missing sailors in the Bahamas who worked on the large cargo ship, El Faro.

Their families met privately with the Coast Guard in Jacksonville to get an update on the rescue efforts.
Among those lost at sea are 3 men from Lee County.

“it is just very sad,” said Denise Clark.

All that family and friends of 46-year old Jeremy Riehm can do is sit anxiously.

Riehm is a father and husband who is still missing at sea and lives on Bokeelia.

“How the families are enduring all of this. There are 33 families going through all of this today,” said Clark.

Riehm is one of the 33 people who worked on board El Faro which was last heard from near the Bahamas. The shift left from Jacksonville to Puerto Rico last Thursday.
The Coast Guard says the captain of the 790 foot ship tried avoid hurricane Joaquin, but a mechanical failure made the ship like a toy in the furious 50 foot waves.
Tonight the coast guard believes El Faro sank.

“He was just a great guy and he really loved his family,” said Herbert Clerk.

“He wasn’t at home a whole lot because he had to work, but when he was at home he was a family man,” said Clark.

The Coast Guard says they found a safety ring from El Faro in a debris field, a damaged life boat, and a survival suit with unidentifiable human remains.
But Riehms friends tell WINK News he’s a fighter and are praying he is alive.

“If there is a way he would have found it and will make his way with the others,” said Clark.