JUPITER INLET COLONY, Fla. — A boat filled with migrants was spotted Friday afternoon off the coast of Jupiter.
It happened at about 2:45 p.m.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said they stopped the boat with 19 people aboard, but two men jumped off and swam to shore.
Jupiter Inlet Colony police said a neighborhood was blocked off for two hours.
Eric Sample, who lives in Jupiter Inlet Colony, said he was walking along the beach when the incident occurred.
"There were a lot of different police from different agencies who were camped out and circling in and communicating constantly, and they found them," Sample said.
Police said with the help of a search dog they were able to find one man in the neighborhood, hiding near a house. The other migrant was found closer to the inlet.
Spencer Maxwell said he was paddleboarding before the migrants swam ashore, saying the water conditions were getting rough with sharks in the water.
"We saw a couple of black tips," Maxwell said. "The migration is starting here soon, so the water is still warm so expecting to see a lot of sharks here recently."
All of the migrants are being turned over to U.S. Border Patrol.
As of Jan. 26, there has been nearly 10,000 migrants have been interdicted with 5,500 apprehended, according to FloridaDisaster.org, which is the state's emergency management site.
