Coast Guard Searching for Boat Missing Off South Carolina Coast After Storm

Published January 13, 2015

The Coast Guard was searching for six boaters Friday after receiving a distress call during a storm that the group's small craft was taking on water off the South Carolina coast.

Strong wind kept helicopters from searching from the air Friday morning.

Petty Officer 1st Class Donnie Brzuska said a search of the shore line hadn't turned up the boat or debris. Searches late Thursday, including overhead passes by a helicopter, came up empty.

"All of our drift models say that this boat would have came ashore," Brzuska said. "We're definitely not done searching."

The mayday call came in about 10:30 p.m. Thursday saying the 23-foot boat was about 600 yards from shore and taking on water. Officials lost communication with the boat afterward, Brzuska said. It wasn't clear who the six people were.

At the time, a violent storm system that has been blamed for 20 deaths across the Midwest and Southeast was moving into the Carolinas with wind gusts over 50 mph. The storm moved off shore early Friday.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/story/coast-guard-searching-for-boat-missing-off-south-carolina-coast-after-storm