Loved ones not giving up hope for missing boater in Sanibel waters

A woman is pleading to her community not to give up the search for the man she calls the love of her life.

Last Friday, 29-year-old Sterling Grover fell off a boat 80 miles off Sanibel, and that weekend, the Coast Guard stopped the search for him.

Now, his loved one told WINK, she is holding out hope that he will be found and asking the community for help in the search for him.

Grover is very loved by his friends, family and the fishing community. They are all grieving, but they aren’t ready to give up hope just yet.

“I’m terrified, but I’m hopeful because I know the man that he is, and I know he’s a fighter,” said Zoe Cady, his girlfriend.

What does he mean to Zoe Cady?

“He’s a father. He’s a friend. He’s the love of my life,” she said, “a best friend, just about anybody who knew him, he was the sweetest soul on the planet, just would give you the absolute skin off his back if it meant that you were OK.”

But now, Cady said, Sterling just needs to be found. He fell overboard 80 miles off Sanibel Island after he went back to go to the bathroom.

“About 15 minutes went by, the guys were like, ‘Where is he? What’s going on?'” said Cady.

They immediately called the Coast Guard, but the search was suspended on Saturday, so now Cady is asking the community to keep searching.

“If you have a boat, if you have a way to get out there, anybody looking is better than nobody looking, and he is not someone who deserves to be given up on,” Cady said.

Below is a picture of Sterling. He has curly blonde hair, blue eyes and tattoos that might help you identify him.

“Behind his ear are two hooks that are in the shape of an S. One’s upside down and the other one’s upside down, and they just make an S shape. He’s got it on his left forearm, right about here. He has a giant, it’s like a red eyeball, on his hand. He has a dive mask,” Cady said.

We spoke with the Coast Guard. They said unless they get any more information the search is suspended.