Coast Guard searches for missing boater near Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina

united states coast guard 

News Release  

U.S. Coast Guard 5th District Mid-Atlantic
Contact: 5th District Public Affairs
Office: (757) 398-6272
After Hours: (757) 434-7712
5th District online newsroom

Coast Guard searches for missing boater near Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina

Pictured here is the H.M.S Me II, a 35-foot recreational vessel, reported operated by Michael Bye, currently missing off the coast of North Carolina. (U.S. Coast Guard photo.) Pictured here are the search patterns completed by Coast Guard members in their on-going search for Michael Bye, a 73-year-old man missing off the coast of North Carolina. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

Editors' Note: Click on images to download high resolution version.

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard is searching for a missing 72-year-old boater who was reported missing while sailing from New York to Florida, Saturday.

Michael Bye was reported to be sailing aboard his 35-foot recreational vessel, the H.M.S. Me II.

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard’s Fifth District command center were notified at 7:40 p.m., Friday that Bye had failed to make contact at an agreed upon time by a family member.

Coast Guard search-and-rescue coordinators found his last position via cellphone in the vicinity of Kill Devil Hills, N.C.

An HC-130 Hercules from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C. is currently on-scene searching.

Bye was scheduled to meet a friend in Belhaven, North Carolina, today, but did not arrive.  Anyone with additional information regarding this case should contact the D5 command center on VHF-FM channel 16 or at 757-398-6390.

 

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