Family ends search for 3 boaters missing nearly a week

The Valley's Marquis Cooper graduated from Highland High School

The Valley's Marquis Cooper graduated from Highland High School in Gilbert in 2000.

"It's a pit in my stomach thinking he's out there," said Jim Baker, a former guidance counselor at Highland High.

Baker as well as other teachers and coaches from Highland High School say they spent Monday constantly checking the Internet for updates on Marquis' whereabouts.

"(Marquis) is a fighter," said Baker. "He believes in himself and that things are going to turn out alright. That gives me hope, too."

Baker also knows Marquis Cooper's parents and says he can't imagine what they're going through.

"They're some of the most positive people, too," said Baker. "I'm sure they're going through a lot."

Ray Sanchez of Tampa, a cousin of Cooper, said he was told the men were together "for a good period of time" after the boat flipped. He said the family was confident the Coast Guard would find them.

Cooper, 26, played college ball at Washington, and has spent five seasons with five different teams, appearing in 26 games with the Buccaneers in 2004 and 2005. He's played sparingly since.

"Fishing is his first love," said Marquis' wife Rebekah Cooper. "There's no place I'd feel more confident than with him on a boat."

"Before he left, I asked him if he was going to be really late and he said 'no,' he knew there was some weather coming through," said Rebekah Cooper.