Coast Guard, Fish and Wildlife Officers, Panama City Firemen and a number of private spent most of Monday afternoon and evening searching the waters of St. Andrew Bay, looking for a missing man.

The search began around 3:45 PM 800 feet off the downtown Panama City Marina in the direction of Red Fish Point.

A group of boaters reported that one of their party members jumped over the side and never resurfaced. The boat was heading back to the Downtown Marina boat ramp at the time. There were three men and two women on-board.

His friends say the man said something like "watch this", then jumped. The captain of the vessel immediately pulled back the throttle and threw out a rescue buoy, and at least two other in the group jumped over to try and save him. But they couldn't find him.

Friends identified the missing man as James Cook, but Panama City Police could not confirm that identity. Boats from the Coast Guard, Fish and Wildlife and the Panama City Fire Department joined the search, with no results.

Sgt. Jeff Becker of the Panama City Police Department says the man was not wearing a life jacket when he went over-board.

"This is the perfect case of if he isn't wearing a life vest he should have been because I believe a vest would have brought him to the top. We haven't located him yet and an hours time has passed so that could be a problem. You should always wear your vest"

Investigators say alcohol may have played a part in this incident. They also say the man who was operating the boat had not been drinking.