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Coast Guard crews resume search for missing boater off N.C. coast

Coast Guard
Posted at 4:15 PM, Apr 09, 2024
and last updated 2024-04-09 16:15:46-04

After previously suspending their search for a missing boater Monday, Coast Guard Crews said they resumed their search Tuesday.

The boater hasn’t been seen since he left for a fishing trip over the weekend.

Coast Guard crews suspended their search on April 8 at 8:20 p.m. after crews spent nearly three days looking for 47-year-old Jeffrey Kale, Coast Guard officials said.

“...Anytime we conduct a search and rescue it is with the hope of bringing someone back home and safely reuniting them with their family and friends," said Cmdr. Corrie Sergent, Sector North Carolina deputy commander. "The decision to suspend a search is one of the most difficult decisions to make. Our thoughts are with the Kale family.”

Coast Guard

Northeastern North Carolina

Coast Guard crews suspend search for missing boater off N.C. coast

Madeline Miller
9:17 AM, Apr 08, 2024

During their search effort, crews covered over 7,762 miles, which is nearly the size of Massachusetts, officials say.

Kale was last seen leaving from the Southport Wildlife Boat Ramp in North Carolina around 4 p.m. on Saturday, according to officials. He was aboard a white 32-foot Cape Horn center-console boat, officials added.

Around 10:30 p.m., Kale’s family told watchstanders he hadn’t returned from the fishing trip, officials say.

A plane from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, a coastal patrol boat, response boats from Coast Guard Station Oak Island and Coast Guard Station Wrightsville Beach, and multiple good Samaritan boaters were involved in the search effort.

Anyone with information on Kale’s whereabouts is asked to call 910-343-3880.