UPDATE:
A boater discovered the body of Colorado State student Jie Luo in Florida waters at around 6:30 p.m. March 22. Read the full brief here.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Floridian authorities report they have found the body of 27-year-old Andrew Charles Dillman, the first mate who jumped in the water to attempt to save a CSU student during a boating accident in Florida that occurred there over spring break.
15 CSU students were on a charter boat off of Shell Key in Pinellas County, Florida, when five of them decided to go swimming.
One of the swimmers was Jie Luo, a senior business major studying finance and real estate. In rough water and high wind, Luo could not swim back to the boat, so Dillman jumped into the water to help him while the the charter captain assisted the four other swimmers.
After three days of searching in hopes of rescuing the men, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office announced Friday they had changed focus from a search-and-rescue mission to a recovery operation, which ended Sunday.
Just after 2 p.m. March 20 a boater reported a body floating in the water approximately three miles west of Egmont Key. Authorities identified it as that of Andrew Dillman.
Luo has still not been found.
If you know any CSU student who was in the area or have any information about this case, please email Collegian editor in chief Julia Rentsch, who can be reached at jrentsch@collegian.com or on Twitter at @julia_rentsch.
