Michael Franzese, 32, disappeared from Madeira Beach, Florida, after setting out on January 28, 1982. He and a friend, Donnel Sears, embarked on a small Styrofoam sailboat and headed into the Gulf of Mexico; neither man returned and the boat was never recovered.

The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office conducted searches, but there have been no definitive leads or discoveries about what happened to Franzese or Sears. Given the frailty of the craft and the Gulf’s hazardous conditions, it is feared they may have run into trouble at sea, but their whereabouts remain unknown.

Anyone who knew Michael Franzese, Donnel Sears, or who may have information about that outing is asked to come forward.