The Empty Boat

Sources

Every source used for this site is listed here. Nothing has been invented. Online coverage of this case is thin, so the 1956 clippings are the core record.

The clippings (primary sources)

• Tampa Morning Tribune, Jan. 30, 1956 (inferred date): "Three Tampans Missing As Boat Is Found Adrift In Gulf Off Tarpon Springs" by Leland Hawes
• Tampa Morning Tribune, Tue. Jan. 31, 1956: "3 Tampans Still Missing In The Gulf" (with photos)
• Tampa Daily Times (inferred), ≈Jan. 31, 1956: "Hope Dims in Search For Three Tampa Men Missing Since Sunday" / "Fog Halts Search For Lost Tampans"
• Tampa Morning Tribune, ≈Feb. 11, 1956: "Tale of Mystery: Rumors Spread About Three Tampans Lost In The Gulf" by Arthur Smith
• Tampa Morning Tribune, ≈late Feb./early Mar. 1956: "Kidnap Tale Renews Hunt For Tampans Lost In Gulf" by Art Smith
• Tampa Morning Tribune, ≈late Feb./early Mar. 1956: "Gray Paint Flecks Found On Missing Men's Boat" by Art Smith
• 1965 scrapbook page: Tony Alfano and Luella Marlow obituaries/funeral notices, Feb. 26, 1965; "In Remembrance" card

Other 1956 papers (Google Books full view)

Read from the page images in October 2026. Transcriptions and the disagreements with the Tampa clippings are on the Clippings page. A search of the same newspaper set from March 23 through December 31, 1956, under these names, returned nothing further.

• Sarasota Journal, Jan. 30, 1956, p. 13, "Trio Missing on Small Boat" — transcription
• Ocala Star-Banner, p. 49, "Three Tampa Men On Fishing Trip Missing" (Google's issue date is Jan. 29; the wording fits Jan. 30) — transcription
• Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Jan. 31, 1956, p. 5, "CG Looks For Mysteriously Missing Men" (UP, dateline Jan. 30) — transcription
• St. Petersburg Times, Jan. 31, 1956, p. 16, "For Missing Trio" — transcription
• The Times-News, p. 24, "Continue Hunt For 3 Fishermen" (dateline Jan. 31; Google's issue date of Jan. 26 is wrong) — transcription
• St. Petersburg Times, Feb. 1, 1956, p. 17, "Search For 3 Missing Men Is Continued" — transcription
• St. Petersburg Times, Feb. 13, 1956, p. 17, Bob Jones, "Mystery Of Three Vanished Fishermen Unsolved" — transcription
• St. Petersburg Times, March 22, 1956, p. 23, Bob Jones, "Anglers' Disappearance Creates Big Mystery" — transcription

Weather and sea data

• NOAA NCEI GHCN-Daily data (Tampa Int'l Airport USW00012842; Tarpon Springs USC00088824), Jan. 26–Feb. 2, 1956
• NOAA GHCN-Daily station list (station names and coordinates)
• NOAA NCEI Coastal Water Temperature Guide: Clearwater Beach January average 61.5°F
• U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary hypothermia handout (water temperature vs. time to loss of dexterity / unconsciousness / survival)

People, places and context

• SortedByName.com, Abreu index page: Reinaldo Abreu, b. 6 Sep 1916 Tampa, son of Alfredo Abreu and Emelina Enriquez, d. 22 Jul 1994. Now confirmed as Det. Ray Abreu: the parents match Nina Harrell's obituary, and the 1950 census lists him as a city police detective (see The people, below)
• Historical Marker Database: St. Nicholas Boat Line (Billiris family, Tarpon Springs; deep-sea fishing boats)
• Patch: Missing persons last seen in Tarpon Springs (comparison: 1994 'Miss Black Diamond' crew never found)

The people (census, obituary and index records)

• 1950 U.S. Census, Tampa, ED 72-61, sheet 71: Abreu, Emelina (58, Cuba, widowed, cigar maker), Armando (30), Ostrosky, John (27, Pennsylvania, son-in-law), Margarita (28, Cuba, daughter), Sandra Lee (1, Florida, granddaughter), house 2734. National Archives search (API) and page image
• Page image: 1950 Census, Florida, ED 72-61 (Abreu/Ostrosky household)
• Page image: 1950 Census, Florida, ED 72-60, sheet 5: Harrell, Ray (34, "Missouri" [records say Arkansas], head), Emilina (37, Florida, wife), Christena (3, Missouri, child), house 2010 (street appears to be Howard)
• Page images: 1950 Census, Florida, ED 72-57, sheets 8 and 9: Abrew, Reinaldo (33, Fla., detective, city police) and wife Joan (23, Ohio)
• Obituary: Emelina Abreu "Nina" Harrell, 95, d. Mar. 5, 2008, Tampa (Tampa Bay Times / TBO.com via Legacy.com, published Mar. 12, 2008). Names her parents, a daughter, Christine, and her siblings Al, Ray and Armondo Abreu and Margaret Ostrosky
• SortedByName.com, Ostrosky index page 6: Margaret A. (Margarita A.) Ostrosky, née Margarita Abreu, b. 17 Dec 1921 Havana, Cuba, daughter of Alfredo Abreu and Emelina Enriquez, d. 26 Jun 2000, ZIP 33607 (Social Security claims index)
• SortedByName.com, Ostrosky index page 5: John Ostrosky, S/Sgt., U.S. Army Air Forces, WWII, b. 12 Jun 1922, d. 29 Jan 1956, St. Mary Russian Orthodox Cemetery, Summit Hill, PA (VA burial index)
• SortedByName.com, Abreu index page 3: Social Security claims entries for Margarita, Reinaldo and Armando Abreu (b. 29 Nov 1918 Tampa, d. Apr. 1983), all children of Alfredo Abreu and Emelina Enriquez
• Obituary: Reinaldo Abreu, 77, d. July 22, 1994, Tampa (St. Petersburg Times / Tampa Bay Times archive, "Hillsborough Obituaries," July 26, 1994). Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office detective. Survivors included his wife, Joan, and his sisters "Enelina A. Harrell" and Margaret A. Ostrosky. The notice also names two daughters and three grandchildren, not repeated here

FamilySearch records (October 2026; viewing requires a free FamilySearch login)

• 1930 U.S. Census, Tampa, sheet 6B, line 62 (indexed "Abreno"): Alfredo 40, Cuba; Emelina 38, Cuba; Emelina 17, Fla.; Alfredo Jr. 15, Cuba; "Reinardo" 13, Fla.; "Almondo" 11, Fla.; Margaret 8, Cuba
• 1940 U.S. Census, Tampa, ED 70-35, sheet 14A, line 16 (indexed "Abrieu"): Alfredo 50, Cuba; Emelina 48, Cuba; Emelina (daughter) 27, Fla.; Armando 21, Fla.; Margaret 18, Cuba; same residence in 1935
• Alfredo Abreu, funeral record: d. 12 Feb 1950, Tampa; b. 31 May 1890, Vereda Nueva, Cuba; parents Valentin Abreu and Margarita Leon
• Alfredo Abreu, funeral record (second entry)
• Alfredo Abreu, Social Security NUMIDENT
• Alfredo Abreu, Florida Death Index, 1950
• Alfredo Abreu, Find a Grave index: Martí-Colón Cemetery, Tampa
• Alfredo Abreu, naturalization, 9 Sep 1940
• Emelina Enriquez Abreu, 1950 census entry (b. 12 Mar 1892, Havana; d. 20 Sep 1967, Tampa; parents Damian Enriquez and Natalia Placeres per her death and funeral records, which are also on FamilySearch)
• Emelina Abreu household, 1945 Florida state census
• Obituary index entry for Emelina "Nina" Harrell, 2008
• Marriage: John Ostrosky and Margarita Abreu, 30 Jun 1944, Hillsborough Co., Fla., p. 301
• Same marriage, duplicate index entry (mis-indexed as "Florida City, Dade")
• John Ostrosky, WWII draft registration: b. 12 Jun 1922, Coaldale, Pa.; contact Roman Ostrosky
• John Ostrosky, Find a Grave index: St. Mary's Russian Orthodox Cemetery, Summit Hill, Pa.; d. 29 Jan 1956
• John Ostrosky, 1945 Florida state census
• 1930 U.S. Census, Coaldale, Pa.: Ostrosky household. Roman 37 (Russia), Anna 37 (Poland); children incl. John, Alex, Olga, Peter, Anna, George, Helen
• 1940 U.S. Census, Coaldale East Ward, Pa. (indexed "Ostransky"): Roman, Anna; children incl. John, Catherine, Peter, George, Alex
• South Carolina marriage license, 10 Jan 1944, Florence, S.C.: Rupert Ray Harrell, 27, and Emeline Abreu, 29
• Same license, duplicate index entry (indexed "Abren")
• Rupert Ray Harrell, WWII draft registration: b. 17 Mar 1916, Casey (Cass), Ark.; residence White Oak, Dunklin Co., Mo.; contact Lawson Fielder Harrell
• Rupert Ray Harrell, U.S. military separation record (indexed; details not reviewed)
• Rupert Ray Harrell, Social Security Death Index: death Jan. 1956
• Rupert Ray Harrell, Social Security NUMIDENT
• 1920 U.S. Census, Pope Co., Ark.: Harrell household, parents Lawson and Bessie
• 1930 U.S. Census, Wilson, Yell Co., Ark.: Harrell household
• Passenger-list hits for Abreu family names were found but are not confirmed as this family, so they are not used on this site

1945 census and the 2012 compilation

• scans/census1945-2734-main.png, on this site: Florida State Population Census, 1945, Hillsborough County, precinct 9, page 28. Household at 2734 (Main Street, carried by ditto marks from 2715 Main higher on the sheet): Alfredo Abreu 55, Cuba, laborer; Emelina 53, Cuba; Armando 26, Florida, 2 years of college, Army; Reinaldo 28, Florida, 4 years of college, Police; John Ostrosky 22, Pennsylvania, high school, Army; Margaret 23, Cuba, high school, housewife; Ray R. Harrell 29, Missouri, high school, Army; Emelina 33, Florida, housewife. The next address is 2737.
• FamilySearch index, 1945 Florida census, Emelina Abreu household and John Ostrosky (also listed under FamilySearch records below)
• Genealogical compilation, 2011–2012, unpublished: Alfredo Augusto Jesus Abreu, born 5 May 1914, Havana, died November 1986, Tampa; marriage in 1939 to Vivian Inez Burleson (born 28 March 1920, died 20 October 1990, Tampa). No certificate was attached. The May 1914 birth fits Alfredo Jr.'s age of 15 on the April 1, 1930 census. The compilation also gives rough years for other Abreu births that the censuses and vital indexes already date more precisely, and those rougher years are not used.
• Tampa Tribune, October 23, 1990, South Bay section, page 2: death notice for Vivian Burleson Abreu, 70, of Tampa, a retired seamstress and past member of "Serve," who died October 20, 1990. Neptune Society, St. Petersburg. The notice does not name a husband. It matches the compilation's name and dates. Survivors named in the notice are not repeated here.

Consulted but not relied on

• PeopleWin people-search listing for "Margaret Ostrosky" (broker data that merges her with another person; unreliable ages; not used as evidence)
• SortedByName.com, Harrell index (too large to search page by page for Ray R. Harrell; sample page)
• Find a Grave and the VA Nationwide Gravesite Locator: blocked automated access, so neither could be searched

Searched with no relevant results (for the record)

• Library of Congress / Chronicling America full-text search, 1956–58 (no Tampa papers for this period; no hits for the names)
• General web searches for each man's name plus Tampa, 1956, Anclote, Find a Grave and police memorials: no matching memorials, obituaries, or later news found

Where to look next (not yet searched; need a subscription or an in-person visit)

• Newspapers.com: Tampa Tribune and Tampa Times 1956–1963 (follow-up stories, any recovered remains, presumptive-death or insurance cases)
• Google News Archive: the St. Petersburg Times stories from Jan. 31, Feb. 1, Feb. 13 and March 22, 1956, are now transcribed above, from the Google Books scans. The Evening Independent for 1956 did not turn up in that set. The Tampa Tribune and Tampa Times for the days after the scrapbook clippings are still not in it.
• Tampa-Hillsborough County Public Library: Florida history and genealogy
• Hillsborough County Clerk of Court: probate and presumptive-death records (≈1956–1963)
• FamilySearch (free login): Rupert Ray Harrell's separation-record details, and a death certificate or obituary for Alfredo Augusto Jesus Abreu (the 2012 compilation says November 1986, Tampa)
• VA Nationwide Gravesite Locator (search by hand: Harrell, died 1956; Ostrosky, Summit Hill PA)
• National Archives: U.S. Coast Guard records (RG 26), search-and-rescue case files, St. Petersburg Air Station, 1956
• Tampa Police Memorial / Tampa Police Dept. history (Patrolman Ostrosky's service record)

Research conducted October 2026, with the 1945 census sheet, a 2011–12 genealogical compilation, and the Google Books newspaper scans added after that. Newspaper articles are © their original publishers.