A well-known millionaire in Fort Lauderdale, Florida went missing in June, when his boat drifted onto a local beach, still running, without him. Guma Aguiar is a well-known figure in Fort Lauderdale as a successful energy industrialist. Unfortunately, he has been missing since June 19, 2012. The married, father of four, was last seen on home surveillance at 7 p.m., steering his yacht, the T.T. Zion away from his private dock. Police were able to study yacht’s route by accessing the location data provided by the GPS tracking device onboard the T.T. Zion.

 

“No one can say what happened,” said Steven Novak, Fort Lauderdale’s Police Sgt. “He is still considered a missing person.” The GPS tracking device allowed investigators to see the precise route and speed, which they hoped might reveal a helpful clue as to what happened to Guma Aguilar. Unfortunately, in this case, the data recorded by the GPS tracking device only adds to the mystery. “There was a dramatic deceleration and change of course, back toward land,” explained Novak. “It never stops until it hits the sand… Even when it slowed down to less than 2 mph, it as still moving about 80 feet per minute.”

 

Guma recently faced financial, marital, and legal troubles. These issues, along with his bi-polar diagnosis leads some to believe he might have taken his life out at sea. Another theory suggests that the sharp turn indicated by the GPS data could have been caused by the yacht’s engine stalling. At a high enough speed, a sharp turn could have thrown Guma off the vessel. This theory, however, is implausible to those who knew him. “We used to spend time on boats together,” said Bob Denison, a long-time friend of Aguiar’s and president of the Yacht company. “It’s really bizarre to me, the whole thing. I can’t imagine him being thrown from the boat or not being able to swim back. He’s one of the most creative and smart people I know.”

 

“Anybody that really, really has known Guma for a long time is holding out hope that he is still alive out there. Not to say that he’s hiding out on some island. I just really want the guy to be alive,” Denison said. Police Sgt. Novak also speculated that the millionaire may have simply ran from his troubles. “If he did stage his disappearance, someone with his means could be difficult to find,” Novak said. “And that’s a big if.”