A recently retired Miami-Dade Corrections officer died Wednesday morning while kayaking with a group of his former colleagues on Card Sound in North Key Largo.
Retired Sgt. Michael Frosceno, 56, was found by one of his friends floating face up in the water right by the Card Sound Bridge, not far from the county line, said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Officer Robert Dube.
The group of about seven kayakers lost site of Frosceno at some point during the outing. One of the men doubled back and found Frosceno, who was wearing his lifejacket, Dube said.
Frosceno retired in July after 26 years in Corrections, said Janelle Hall, Miami-Dade Corrections spokeswoman.
After his friend found Frosceno, he began blowing a whistle and waiving for help. Flats guide Mike Makowski, owner of Blackfoot Charters, had just arrived in the area at around 9:30 a.m. with a two-passenger charter.
“We had just started fishing and put our lines in the water about 10 minutes earlier,” Makowski said.
Makowski and his clients helped pull Frosceno aboard the flats skiff. Makowski’s clients administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation as the captain sped toward the boat ramp at the nearby Alabama Jack’s restaurant on Card Sound Road.
Makowski took over CPR when he docked. He said he did chest compressions for about 15 minutes until a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputy and a Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue crew arrived.
“I’ve never done that before,” Makowski said of performing CPR. “It was exhausting.”
FWC Officer Janette Costoya arrived by boat shortly after the Sheriff’s Office deputy. Costoya initially thought the situation involved a child because the 911 dispatch reported a 40-year-old was missing in the water. The call over Costoya’s radio sounded like the search was for a 4-year-old.
“When she got there, she was still looking for a 4-year-old,” Dube said.
A Miami-Dade Fire-Rescue helicopter landed on the Card Sound Bridge and took Frosceno to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami-Dade, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy will be performed by the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office to determine the cause of death. Frosceno is survived by a wife, but no children, Hall said.
Dube said Frosceno’s friends said he had recently received a kidney transplant.