Jason Heath is Still Missing
UPDATE 26 MARCH 2022: We have recovered the boat and signs point to a boat accident, more details in Facebook post.
Update 21 MARCH 2022: The boat has been found on one of the Barracuda Keys, we are working with the Sheriff’s office and FWC and hope to have more information soon.
Jason Heath went out on his 25-ft blue Panga boat (FL9811SW) from our Sugar Loaf Key residence around 2pm on Monday November 22, 2021. He was going for a short recreational trip to enjoy the weather before leaving to visit us, including his four month old niece, in New Jersey for Thanksgiving. The last contact was a short call with his Dad around noon on the 22nd and he has not been heard from since. He was wearing a short sleeve navy shirt, gray shorts, keen sandals, prescription sunglasses and an Apple watch.
As of January 2022, nothing has been found and we are offering a $25,000 reward for return of the Panga, Jason, or information directly leading to their return.
An extensive search conducted by the US Coast Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife, Monroe County Sheriff, and community volunteers has turned up no sign of Jason or the Panga and active search has been suspended. As his family, we are continuing the search for our son, brother, and uncle.
Information gathered (detailed below) has provided a partial timeline, with the last known sign of him being a ping off of the Cudjoe Key cell tower at 3:15pm.
Any information that can help us fill in the timeline or find any physical evidence that would help bring us closure, we would be eternally grateful for. Please contact us at (609) 380-8147 or FindJasonHeath@gmail.com or his sister, Allison Heath directly on Facebook.
Continue to keep an eye out!
While there has been no sign of the boat, we do continue to have hope that something may be found and ask people to keep a look out. Additionally, Jason was wearing a navy blue short sleeve shirt, gray shorts, prescription sunglasses and Keen sandals that day.
We were able to obtain the result of the cell phone forensics that were performed. This information provides a likely area that his phone was in when it last pinged from the Cudjoe Key Tower (purple triangle). Here is a map of that area overlaid with what we think was his likely path of navigation headed home (yellow line) through Bow Channel to Tarpon Creek cut.
If you want to help, one of the best ways is just to continue to keep the word out in case anyone has any additional information or spots anything. Below is a sharable image with all relevant identifiers and information:
Copy/pastable identifiers here:
Boat Identifiers:
Registration #: FL9811SW
Hull Identification #: UF025015K021
Equipment identifiers:
Suzuki DF150AP: 15003P – 910124
MMSI # 338397691
Garmin VHF 115: 639005514
Garmin GPSMAP 8610xsv: 5SW006356
1:54pm – Boat leaves residence
The time of this camera is off – this is actually 1:54 PM.
While it looks like he’s headed out to the Atlantic side, we think this is unlikely, this is also the more convenient way to get out into the backcountry going up Bow Channel
3:15pm – Last cell phone ping
We also know that the last ping of his cell phone was at 3:15 PM on Monday November 22, 2021 from Cudjoe Key tower, this correlates with a squall moving through that created major wind gusts
Between 2:30 and 3:30pm – Boat sighted by residents
Spoke with a resident who live inside the red circle, they told us they clearly remember seeing him headed in the path of the red arrow just as the bad weather came in, going fast, presumably to avoid it. They remember because they noticed the boat was probably too tall to fit under the bridge at high tide.
3:46pm – Storm Noted
Video of the storm blowing through from the same camera – again, time is off by an hour, this is on Monday at 3:46 PM November 22, 2021
Gallery
Recent photos of Jason and his boat