OREGON INLET, N.C. – The United States Coast Guard, North Carolina Marine Patrol, Fish and Wildlife Service and Cape Hatteras National Seashore Rangers have suspended the search Wednesday night for a man who went missing while swimming near Oregon Inlet.
The agencies searched near the Bonner Bridge throughout the day.
According to officials, the 60-year-old man’s girlfriend told Dare County 911 that he had gone out on a boogie board to swim in the inlet Wednesday morning and did not return. Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet boat crews were launched alongside an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City.
A Coast Guard crew found his boogie board located against a span of the bridge.
“It’s especially busy as we begin the Fourth of July weekend and it’s very important to be mindful of your environment and wear your life jacket as you head out on the water,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Scott Dempsey, a search and rescue coordinator at the Coast Guard’s 5th District in Portsmouth, Virginia. “In the region, there have been at least six deaths of people not wearing life jackets in the past week.”
This is a developing story. Stay with News 3 on-air and online for updates.
