Charles Persho was working on the fishing vessel "the Kelly J", with Edward Ballo. Persho had worked on a couple of fishing vessels out of Maderia Beach. He then met with Ballo, at which time Ballo hired him to go out and fish. While 60 miles west of Madeira Beach, in the Gulf of Mexico, Persho became sick and started to hallucinate. He then jumped into the water. Ballo tried to get Persho back on the boat, throwing ropes and extending a ladder out to Persho, but Persho kept pushing them away. Ballo then called the Coast Guard for assistance. By the time they arrived Ballo could not find Persho, as he was lost somewhere in the water.
