Family: Justin Fedele was avid fisherman, military veteran

SANDUSKY — The father of missing boater Justin Fedele, found dead Friday, described his son as a U.S. Army veteran who loved to fish.Fedele, 28, was found on the shoreline near Edgewater Avenue after he went missing from his boat on the Sandusky Bay April 27."It's my worst nightmare," said his father, Sandusky resident Joseph Fedele. "We were inseparable."Justin Fedele graduated from Sandusky High School in 2008, Joseph Fedele said. Justin "surprised" his father one say when he said he wanted to join the military."He came home one day senior year and said, 'Dad, I want to enlist. What do you think?'" Joseph Fedele said. "I said 'I'd be proud.'"Justin Fedele joined the Army that fall and served in Afghanistan until he returned home in 2012, Joseph Fedele said. When he returned, Justin Fedele worked with his father at his business, J+V Pallet in Huron.Joseph Fedele said he and his son went to concerts together in Toledo and Cleveland, including trips to see Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots.More than anything, Justin Fedele loved to fish, Joseph Fedele said."That kid was crazy about fish," Joseph Fedele said. "He loved being on the water."Justin Fedele was on the bay fishing when he apparently went overboard, Joseph Fedele said, adding he would walk along the shoreline every morning after his son went missing.For Joseph Fedele, it was a "blessing" when authorities located his son's body."It did give me closure," he said. "You never dream of having to bury your kid. Now (Justin's) out there fishing in the lake up in heaven."Fedele also has a six-year-old son named Colton, Joseph Fedele said.Joseph Fedele posted Sunday on Facebook thanking the community for their "condolences and sympathy."Reach reporter Brandon Addeo at brandonaddeo@sanduskyregister.com, follow him on Twitter @BrandonAddeo and follow the Register at Facebook.com/SanduskyRegisterJustin Fedele, 28, was found dead Friday after he went missing from his boat in Sandusky Bay April 27.