Family of missing paddleboarder Luciano Mercenari beg for help from watch brand Garmin to access his location data
A Miami paddleboarder vanished while spearfishing earlier this week — and his family is calling on Garmin, the maker of the watch he was wearing, to access his location data.
Luciano Mercenari, 29, a skilled paddle boarder and fisherman, left his home in the Cape Florida neighborhood of Key Biscayne around 5:15 p.m. on Monday and was last seen on an aqua-and-orange paddleboard, the US Coast Guard said.
The paddleboard and a bag of his were later located by a Good Samaritan about eight to ten miles offshore between Miami and Fort Lauderdale, the agency said Wednesday.
In a TikTok shared Tuesday evening, Mercenari’s cousin Allegra Jacchia pleaded with the public for help in their search, noting there was a search party ongoing but the family were growing more and more concerned as it approached 24 hours since he was last seen.
Jacchia also issued a desperate appeal to watchmaker Garmin, noting her cousin was wearing one of their timepieces that features GPS tracking, but the family had not been able to access that data.
“He was wearing this watch from the brand Garmin, which is actually a trackable watch similar to an Apple Watch where we could potentially find his location. We contacted Garmin directly, and unfortunately, they’ve been not helpful at all,” Jacchia says in the video.
While the company told her they are not able to track the watch because it wasn’t updated with their latest software, Jacchia says her family has been persistent looking for an explanation — and hoping there’s something they can do to help locate Mercenari.
“We’re trying to understand if there’s anything, anything that they can do because they could literally save Luc’s life and they’ve been so unresponsive and just not collaborative at all,” she added before begging viewers to get the video to someone at the company who might be able to help.
The Post has reached out to Garmin for comment.
Mercenari was wearing gray shorts and a light gray, long-sleeved “Reefs Cheefs” rash guard at the time of his disappearance, according to The Miami New Times.
He is six-foot-two, weighs approximately 200 pounds, and has short, dark-brown hair and light facial hair.
Multiple agencies including the Coast Guard, Miami-Dade Police, and Florida Fish and Wildlife are aiding in the search mission.
