Coconut Creek

‘Beyond Desperate': Wife of Man Who Went Missing in Coconut Creek Lake Holds Out Hope

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A Coconut Creek man has vanished after going fishing in the lake behind his home, and now his wife is holding out hope that he'll be found.

Dan Potter did what he’s done hundreds of times, but this time, he didn't come back.

“My husband lives for fishing, he’s out there every night, keeps him nice and calm, he catches bass, takes some pictures, and throws ‘em back,” said Justine Potter.

Something unfathomable happened on the water Saturday night.

“My last few days have been pure hell, it’s like a bad dream, a nightmare, something I could not even imagine for me or my daughter, how do you disappear, a man who fishes his whole life,” Justine Potter said. “We have a 14-year-old daughter, she’s where is, where is the man, he would never do this, his wallet, his cell phone, work phone, everything was at home.”

Police are searching for the man who went missing Saturday afternoon and has not been seen since.

While a non-profit group called Guardians for the Missing searched the lake Tuesday afternoon with sonar equipment, precious little has been found of Potter or his boat. 

“My daughter found one flip flop and I found the other,” Justine Potter said, adding that they also found an oar, but the boat is still out there somewhere. 

“Like, where is he? It’s awful, it’s absolutely awful, nothing I could ever imagine, it’s a dream, a nightmare that I haven’t come out of yet," she said. 

“When you’re the person you feel very helpless, you don’t know what to do, you think everybody should be out looking for your person because they’re your special someone so at least it gives the family a sense that people are looking and trying to help and doing what they can,” said Shannon Marley, a volunteer with Guardians for the Missing. 

Justine Potter is hoping someone has seen something which can shed some light on her agony.

"Anyone who has seen anything, has seen him, whether it’s on foot, have seen a piece of clothing, anything, at this point, I’m beyond desperate,” she said.

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