The disappearance of prominent Florida attorneys Randall Spivey, 57, and his nephew Brandon Billmaier, 33, during a routine fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico has taken a sinister turn with emerging details about a third person originally invited on the voyage.

The uncle-nephew duo, both experienced in personal injury law—Spivey based in Fort Myers and Billmaier with a firm in Boca Raton—set out on December 19, 2025, aboard Spivey’s 42-foot fishing boat for what was meant to be an offshore bottom fishing excursion. They were reported missing that evening when they failed to return as scheduled. Days later, their vessel was discovered adrift and empty approximately 70-100 miles off the southwest Florida coast, with no signs of the men aboard.

A massive search operation involving the U.S. Coast Guard, air and sea assets, and partner agencies covered thousands of square miles but yielded no clues. Despite exhaustive efforts, the active search was suspended just before Christmas 2025, leaving families devastated and the case shrouded in uncertainty. The matter has since been handed over for further investigation, with the FBI expressing readiness to assist amid speculation of foul play.

New revelations add layers of intrigue to the already baffling case. Sources close to the matter reveal that the fishing trip was initially planned for three people. A close friend of Spivey and Billmaier had been invited and enthusiastically agreed to join. However, in the early morning hours—mere three hours before the scheduled departure—the friend suddenly contacted the pair, citing an unexpected emergency that forced him to back out and request postponement of the entire trip.

Undeterred, Spivey and Billmaier decided to proceed anyway, just the two of them, embarking on what would become their final journey. Compounding the mystery, this same friend has now become unreachable. Attempts to contact him in the weeks following the disappearance have gone unanswered, fueling questions about the timing of his cancellation and his current silence.

Both men were described by family and colleagues as responsible, skilled boaters with no known enemies or personal troubles that would suggest voluntary disappearance. Their boat showed no obvious signs of distress upon discovery, though mechanical issues or sudden weather changes in the Gulf remain possible explanations. Theories range from accidental overboard incidents—perhaps during fishing or an engine failure—to more ominous scenarios given their high-profile legal careers handling multimillion-dollar injury cases.

Families have expressed profound grief while clinging to faint hope, organizing private searches and pleading for any information. As the investigation transitions into a potentially criminal probe, authorities urge anyone with details—particularly regarding the third individual’s abrupt withdrawal—to come forward.

This case echoes rare but haunting maritime mysteries where routine outings end in vanishing without trace. With no bodies recovered and key questions lingering about the unreachable friend, the disappearance of Randall Spivey and Brandon Billmaier continues to grip Florida, leaving a community searching for answers in the vast, unforgiving sea.