Coast Guard suspends search for missing 50-year-old boater

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 11/25/2019 04:33 PM EST

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 suspends search for missing 50-year-old boater

Pictured here are the cumulative search patterns completed by Coast Guard members in their search for Michael Bye, a 50-year-old man missing off the coast of North Carolina. (U.S. Coast Guard photo)

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

PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a 50-year-old man who was reported missing while transiting from New York to Florida aboard his 35-foot recreational vessel, Monday.

Michael Bye was reported missing while aboard his boat, the H.M.S. Me II.

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

The Coast Guard searched approximately 10,000 square miles using assets and personnel from the following units:

  • Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City
  • Coast Guard Station Hobucken
  • Coast Guard Station Hatteras Inlet
  • Coast Guard Station Emerald Isle
  • Coast Guard Station Wrightsville Beach
  • Coast Guard Station Fort Macon
  • Coast Guard Station Oak Island
  • Coast Guard Station Ocracoke
  • Coast Guard Station Elizabeth City

“The decision to suspend a search-and-rescue case is never one we come to lightly,” said Capt. Jeffrey Janszen, Chief of Response for the Fifth Coast Guard District. “We offer our deepest sympathies to the family of Mr. Bye in this difficult time.”

-USCG-