LOS ANGELES — The Coast Guard suspended the search for a missing boater near Dana Point Wednesday at 8:11 p.m.
Coast Guard watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach Operations Center in Long Beach received a call from the Orange County Sheriff’s Department at 10:59 a.m., Tuesday, reporting that an 18-foot Boston Whaler was actively spinning in circles two miles west of Dana Point.
The Coast Guard and local agencies immediately launched both air and surface assets to search for the missing boater, who was reported to be a 40-year-old male, last seen wearing a white shirt, blue jeans and no life jacket.
Multiple air and surface search-and-rescue crews searched for more than 57 hours within a 618 square-mile area from Dana Point south to Ocean Side to locate the missing boater.
Search-and-rescue resources were:
Coast Guard Station Los Angeles 45-foot Response Boat — Medium boatcrews;
MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles;
MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station San Diego;
HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento;
Coast Guard Cutter Halibut and crew, homeported in Marina Del Rey;
Orange County Sheriff’s Department air and boatcrews.
“It is always a difficult decision to suspend an active search, however, Coast Guard crews along with the members of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department saturated the area by searching more than 600 square miles for the missing boater,” said Capt. Jennifer Williams, commanding officer, Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach.
If anyone has information on the location of the missing boater, please call the Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach Command Center at (310) 521-3801.