That Marquis Cooper, such a big name, right? I heard he was some kind of big shot football player. Play for that Raiders team, I think. Strong guy, you know. He gone missing in 2009, poor thing. I remember it like it was yesterday. 2009, wasn’t it? March 11, 1982, that’s when he came into this world, bless his heart. But in March 2009, he went missing. Just like that, poof, gone. They never found him, you see.
They said he went out on a boat, a fishing boat. Small thing, only 21-foot. Him and some other fellas. Corey Smith, that’s another name I recall. They were friends, played football together, all that. Went out fishing in the Gulf, off the coast of Florida. Clearwater, I believe it was. They never came back.
That sea, she’s a mean one. Beautiful, yeah, but mean. Takes what she wants. They went out early, real early. Like 6:30 in the morning. February 28, 2009. A Saturday. Who goes fishing on a Saturday so early? But they did. Marquis Cooper, Corey Smith, and another fella named Will Bleakley. And that Nick Schuyler. Four of them, out on that little boat.
- Marquis Cooper
- Corey Smith
- Will Bleakley
- Nick Schuyler
Only one came back, that Schuyler. They say he was hanging on to the boat, what was left of it. That boat, it flipped. Capsized, they call it. The other three, poor souls, they didn’t make it. Gone. That sea, she just took ’em.
They looked for ’em, searched high and low. That Coast Guard, they did their best. Searched for days, they did. More than 24,000 miles, someone said. That’s a lot of water. But they called it off, that search. Said they couldn’t find ’em. Marquis Cooper, Corey Smith, Will Bleakley. All gone. Presumed dead, that’s what they said. That’s a sad thing to say, ain’t it?
This all happened in 2009, you see. Been a long time now. But folks still talk about it. That Marquis Cooper, he was a big deal. Football player and all. And his daddy, he didn’t like some book that was written. Said it got things wrong. This book, it’s called “Not Without Hope”, something like that. Written by that Schuyler fella, the one who lived. And some other writer.
The accident, that is happened in 2009. Marquis Cooper was a football player. He played for the Raiders team. They were out in a fishing boat. It was a small boat, just 21 foot. Marquis Cooper was with three other men. They were Corey Smith, Will Bleakley, and Nick Schuyler. Corey Smith was also a football player. Nick Schuyler was a football player too. They were in a boat on the sea. The sea is very big. The boat was very small.
The daddy, he’s all upset. Says the book ain’t right. But what’s done is done, I reckon. Can’t bring ’em back, no matter what that book says. Just gotta remember ’em, that’s all. Remember Marquis Cooper and the others.
It’s a sad story, ain’t it? Four men go out on a boat, only one comes back. That sea, she’s a mystery. Takes some, leaves others. Never know why. Just gotta be careful out there, that’s all. Respect the water. It’s bigger than all of us.
Two years, they said. Two years after it happened, people were still talking about it. That’s how big it was. Big news. Marquis Cooper, lost at sea. Along with his friends. It just shows you, you never know what life’s gonna throw at you. One minute you’re here, the next you’re gone.
That Nick Schuyler, he wrote that book. He is the only one to live. He was in the boat with them. He was friends with Will Bleakley. They played football together. They played for USF, some team, I don’t know. But he lived, and the others didn’t. Must be hard, living with that.
That’s all I know about that Marquis Cooper. Sad story, but it’s a story that needs to be told. So we remember. So we’re careful. So we appreciate what we got. ‘Cause you never know when it’ll be gone. He was a big football player, that Marquis Cooper.
