At approximately 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, Coast Guard Sector Northern New England watchstanders were contacted by a person on Rye Beach who reported they thought they saw a paddle boarder wearing dark clothing and waving their hands in distress.
A 29-foot response boat crew from Station Portsmouth Harbor and a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod were launched to search the area.
Hampton Harbor Fire and Rescue and the Rye Harbor Police department have been searching the shore line and surrounding areas. Search crews have not found any signs of distress or received any correlating reports.
“We have very limited information at this point, but we’re conducting a full scale search in the area.” said Lt. Scott McCann, Coast Guard Sector Northern New England command center chief.
He said anyone with information about a missing paddler in the area is urged to contact the Coast Guard Northern New England Command Center at 207-767-0303