broken latch on engine cowl

[ratcitycat]

I have a 1999 Mercury 30 hp 4-stroke. The latch to unlock and open the engine cowl is broken.It rotates freely and I can pull about a 1/2 inch of it out but something is still attatched on the inside.At this point I do not know how to get the cowl off so I can replace the latch.Does anybody have a trick to get it off.Shops are busy and I would like to fix it myself.
Thank You,Mike.