Two South Florida lawyers, including a former insurance defense attorney, remain missing after their fishing boat was discovered southwest of Naples with the engine still running.
The FBI has joined the search for Randall Spivey, 57, a well-known Fort Myers attorney, and his 33-year-old nephew, Brandon Billmaier, of Boca Raton, according to news reports. Spivey ran his own law firm, focusing on injury and wrongful death cases, while Billmaier was part of the Shiner Law Group. Billmaier previously worked in-house for an insurance company and later at a major defense firm, according to the Shiner Law website.
The two left for a fishing trip on the morning of December 19 from the Fort Myers area and were expected to return that evening. When they did not, their wives alerted the U.S. Coast Guard, prompting an extensive search by the Guard and numerous volunteers across a large area off southwest Florida.
By late Saturday night, the Coast Guard located the boat, named Unstopp-A-Bull, about 70 miles off Naples. Two life jackets were missing, but the men were nowhere to be found. Billmaier’s wife told reporters that Coast Guard officials believed one man may have fallen overboard and the other entered the water to help, not realizing the boat’s motor was still running, according to the U.S. Sun and Gulf Coast News Now.
The Coast Guard called off the search Monday evening.
The strange circumstances surrounding their disappearance and the FBI’s involvement have sparked widespread speculation online, with some suggesting foul play or possible involvement of foreign parties.
Spivey earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida and a law degree from Loyola University. He was board-certified in civil trial law, a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and known for securing multiple large jury verdicts over the past 20 years, according to his firm.
Notably, in 2013, Florida’s 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld a $3 million verdict against State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance after a teacher was severely injured in a car crash. The teacher had requested the $2 million policy limit on her underinsured motorist coverage, but State Farm initially offered only $190,000, the Naples Daily News reported at the time.
Billmaier, originally from Ohio, earned both his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Toledo. He worked for several years in insurance and later at a large insurance defense law firm, according to Shiner Law’s website.
In a statement, the Shiner Law Group expressed their sadness over Billmaier’s disappearance, calling him a valued team member and an excellent attorney, the Palm Beach Post reported.