Friends, family and business associates are mourning the loss a beloved Fayette County businessman and a Riverdale man who drowned Thursday in Florida when their boat capsized while fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Julian Lee Jr., 50, of Mallard Creek Lane, Fayetteville, and his longtime friend, Dennis Herring, climbed into Lee's 27-foot fishing boat dubbed, "My Girl Too," and set out to catch a load of King mackerel. However, the tumultuous seas, which reportedly climbed to 6 to 8 feet that day, thwarted their plans, authorities said.

Lee, a commercial and industrial property owner who owned the Lee Center on Bethea Drive off of Ga. Highway 314, was vacationing with his wife, Donna, and other family members, at the time of the accident.

"Mr. Lee called his wife around 1 p.m. Thursday at their Destin, Fla., condo before going out fishing with Mr. Herring," said Stan Kirkland, spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. "That was the last contact with either man."

Lee's partially submerged boat was found Thursday. His body was found at 9:10 a.m. Friday. Herring's body remained at large at press time.

The U.S. Coast Guard received a distress signal from the vessel's emergency position-indicating radio beacon about 4:30 p.m. Thursday. Shortly thereafter, an extensive search began.

"A small craft advisory had been issued Thursday afternoon and we don't advise small boats to go out into the Gulf," Kirkland said. "For whatever reason they decided to go out and the first indication that there was a problem was at 4:22 p.m. Thursday."

At 5:30 p.m. Thursday, a rescue helicopter crew from the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans found the boat about one mile south of the Destin Pass. The vessel was uprighted and towed