NORTH CAROLINA, USA — UPDATE: A boater who went missing on the Pamlico Sound in North Carolina Tuesday evening was found safe, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Buxton resident John Hess, 38, was identified as the missing boater. He was found ashore in Rodanthe Thursday morning.
The Coast Guard said Hess took a friend’s 23-foot boat from a residence in Beaufort onto the South River around 4:30 p.m Tuesday but didn’t come back that night. The boat’s owner searched for Hess overnight with no results, then alerted authorities.
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector North Carolina command center learned about the situation at 10:15 a.m. Wednesday.
A Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City MH-60 Jayhawk Helicopter crew and response boat crews from Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet and Coast Guard Station Hobucken helped with the search efforts.
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Harkers Island Fire Department, North Carolina Marine Patrol and the South River-Merrimon Fire Department were also involved.
