GOLF BECAUSE NEWS AT 5 STARTS RIGHT NOW. >> WE BECAME AN ATTORNEY TO FOLLOW AND UNCLE RANDY’S FOOTSTEPS FIRST 08:00PM. IT TOLD ME THAT HE MOVED TO FLORIDA BECAUSE HE WANTED TO BE LIKE UNCLE RANDY. >> DEBORAH, BILL MAYOR IS PREPARING TO SPEND CHRISTMAS WITHOUT HER HUSBAND AFTER THE COAST GUARD CALLED OFF THE SEARCH FOR BRANDON AND HIS UNCLE RANDY SPIVEY LAST NIGHT. THANK YOU FOR COUNTING ON GULF COAST NEWS. I’M KELLIE BURNS AND I’M CHRISTY SOTO. THE MEN WENT ON A FISHING TRIP FRIDAY MORNING, BUT NEVER CAME SATURDAY. THE BOAT WAS FOUND ADRIFT WITH NO ONE ON ITS 70 MILES OFF THE COAST OF FORT MYERS BEACH TODAY. DEBORAH IS SHARING WITH ME THEIR LOVE STORY AND THE INCREDIBLE BOND BETWEEN THE UNCLE AND NEPHEW LOST AT SEA. >> YOU TEXT ME THAT MORNING. AND HE SAID I LOVE YOU ALL. SEE, IT’S A NIGHT. I’LL BE BACK HOME TONIGHT. THAT WAS THE LAST EVER HEARD FROM HER HUSBAND, BRANDON BELL, MAYOR. >> HE AND HIS UNCLE RANDY SPIDEY SENT OUT FRIDAY MORNING FROM FORT MYERS FOR A DAY OF OFFSHORE FISHING. HE LOVED FISHING TALKED. TALKED ABOUT IT WOULD BE THEIR LAST FISHING TRIP. HE LIVED FOR IT. HE LIVES FOR HIS FAMILY. FOR ME, THE COAST GUARD BELIEVES THE 2 MEN CIRCLED ONE LAST FISHING SPOT ON THE WAY BACK HOME FRIDAY AFTERNOON WHEN ONE OF THEM FELL OVERBOARD. THEY MUST HAVE BEEN IN AN EMERGENCY BECAUSE THE OTHER PERSON JUMPED IN AFTER THEM. >> YES, IN THE MOMENT, WHOEVER JUMPED IN AFTER. EVER WAS IN THE WATER. THEY DIDN’T REALIZE THAT THE ENGINE TO IRAN. SO THE BOAT KEPT MOVING AWAY FROM THEM LEAVING RANDY AND BRANDON STRANDED IN THE WATER ABOUT 70 MILES OUT TO SEA. >> DEBORAH FINDS COMFORT KNOWING THEY WERE TOGETHER. >> THEY BECAME AN ATTORNEY TO FOLLOW AND UNCLE RANDY’S FOOTSTEPS FIRST 08:00PM. IT TOLD ME THAT HE MOVED TO FLORIDA BECAUSE HE WANTED TO BE LIKE UNCLE RANDY. AND THAT HIS WHOLE LIFE HE WAS. WORKING TO BE JUST LIKE HIM. THE LAW SCHOOL. PASS THE BAR EXAM AND JUST LIKE UNCLE RANDY BRANDED MARRIED THE LOVE OF HIS LIFE. >> THE NEWLYWEDS HAD JUST RETURNED FROM A TRIP TO EUROPE. WE >> ACTUALLY JUST JUST GOTTEN BACK FROM OUR ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY TRIP. WE WENT TO PARIS NOW, DEBORAH IS FACING CHRISTMAS WITHOUT HIM. I THINK WE’RE REALLY GRATEFUL. PEOPLE, EVERYONE FROM EVERYWHERE. PRAYING FOR US KEEPING THEM IN THEIR MINDS. >> WILL ROLL. >> THE FAMILIES TELL ME THEY’RE THANKFUL FOR THE COMMUNITY’S SUPPORT FROM THE VOLUNTEERS. THE BOATERS AND THE PILOTS WHO SPENT THE WEEKEND SEARCHING TO THE MANY PHONE CALLS, TEXT MESSAGES FROM TOLEDO TO FOR FLORIDA’S EAST COAST. WE HAVE POSTED THE COAST GUARD SEARCH AND RESCUE GRID AND COORDINATES ALONG WITH A
Exclusive interview: Wife of missing boater off Fort Myers Beach holds hope for Christmas miracle
Updated: 12:01 AM EST Dec 24, 2025
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The families of Brandon Billmaier and his uncle, Randy Spivey Sr., are preparing to spend Christmas without them after the two boaters went missing off Florida’s Gulf Coast, 70 miles from Fort Myers Beach. Deborah Billmaier, Brandon’s wife, expressed her confidence that the U.S. Coast Guard did everything possible to find her husband and his uncle. She also shared more about their story and relationship.”Our love story, it’s pretty incredible we met in 2020,” Deborah said, reflecting on her relationship with Brandon, which began five years ago. “From the moment I first met him, the way he speaks, carries himself, talks about others, cares about others, it’s just something indescribable.”At just 31 years old, Deborah is now a widow, recalling the last dinner she shared with Brandon on a slow Thursday evening. “You know, sometimes just those simple moments are the best,” she said.Brandon and Randy set out for offshore fishing later that night. The Coast Guard believes one of the men fell overboard, and the other jumped in to help, not realizing the boat’s engine was still running. “So they jumped in the water, and the boat was still going, kept moving away from them,” Deborah explained.”There was no way the two men could catch up to the moving 42-foot boat,” she added.The Coast Guard shared its search patterns for Brandon and Spivey Sr., which can be viewed here.More than two dozen boats were deployed in the search, and the Coast Guard located the missing boat. The boat, a green 42-foot Freeman catamaran named “Unstoppable,” was found by the Coast Guard approximately 70 miles offshore on Saturday, around 12 a.m.Deborah described Randy as “the most special person,” filled with integrity and love for his family. The two families were inseparable, often traveling and fishing together, bonded by their shared love of the law. Brandon had become an attorney to follow in his uncle’s footsteps, hoping to eventually join Spivey’s firm.David I. Shiner of the Shiner Law Group in Boca Raton confirmed Monday afternoon that Brandon was a trial attorney at his law firm.Deborah finds solace in knowing her husband spent his last hours doing what he loved. “He loved fishing,” she said. “He lived for it, he lived for his family, for me.”DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.
The families of Brandon Billmaier and his uncle, Randy Spivey Sr., are preparing to spend Christmas without them after the two boaters went missing off Florida’s Gulf Coast, 70 miles from Fort Myers Beach.
Deborah Billmaier, Brandon’s wife, expressed her confidence that the U.S. Coast Guard did everything possible to find her husband and his uncle. She also shared more about their story and relationship.
“Our love story, it’s pretty incredible we met in 2020,” Deborah said, reflecting on her relationship with Brandon, which began five years ago. “From the moment I first met him, the way he speaks, carries himself, talks about others, cares about others, it’s just something indescribable.”
At just 31 years old, Deborah is now a widow, recalling the last dinner she shared with Brandon on a slow Thursday evening. “You know, sometimes just those simple moments are the best,” she said.
Brandon and Randy set out for offshore fishing later that night. The Coast Guard believes one of the men fell overboard, and the other jumped in to help, not realizing the boat’s engine was still running.
“So they jumped in the water, and the boat was still going, kept moving away from them,” Deborah explained.
“There was no way the two men could catch up to the moving 42-foot boat,” she added.
The Coast Guard shared its search patterns for Brandon and Spivey Sr., which can be viewed here.
More than two dozen boats were deployed in the search, and the Coast Guard located the missing boat. The boat, a green 42-foot Freeman catamaran named “Unstoppable,” was found by the Coast Guard approximately 70 miles offshore on Saturday, around 12 a.m.
Deborah described Randy as “the most special person,” filled with integrity and love for his family. The two families were inseparable, often traveling and fishing together, bonded by their shared love of the law. Brandon had become an attorney to follow in his uncle’s footsteps, hoping to eventually join Spivey’s firm.
David I. Shiner of the Shiner Law Group in Boca Raton confirmed Monday afternoon that Brandon was a trial attorney at his law firm.
Deborah finds solace in knowing her husband spent his last hours doing what he loved. “He loved fishing,” she said. “He lived for it, he lived for his family, for me.”
DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.
