A good Samaritan found the boat of a missing man who hasn’t been seen since he left for a fishing trip over the weekend, according to the Coast Guard. However, there's still no sign of the missing boater, despite a widespread, days-long search effort off the North Carolina coast.
Crews continued searching on Wednesday after his boat was located was found nearly 83 miles east of Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, officials say.
There was no one on the boat when it was found, and it did not appear to have any damage, according to officials. Officials say the boat had fishing gear on it.
The Navy joined the Coast Guard's effort to locate Kale after his boat was found. However, there's still been no sign of him.
As of Wednesday night, the search for 47-year-old Jeffrey Kale is suspended, according to officials.
Northeastern North Carolina
Coast Guard crews suspend search for missing boater off N.C. coast
Since Kale was reported missing, crews have spent about 100 hours searching more than 11,690 square miles, which is greater than the size of Maryland, officials say.
“We offer our sincere condolences to the Kale family during this difficult time,” said Cmdr. Corrie Sergent, Sector North Carolina deputy commander. “Saving lives at sea drives our rescue crews to train and operate every single day with the hope to bring people home safely, which is why making the decision to suspend a search is truly one of the hardest things for our personnel to make and we do not take it lightly..."
Kale was last seen leaving from the Southport Wildlife Boat Ramp in North Carolina around 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 6, according to officials. He was aboard a white 32-foot Cape Horn center-console boat, officials added.
Hours later, 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, Navy assets and multiple good Samaritan boaters were among the resources involved in the search effort.
Anyone with information on Kale’s whereabouts is asked to call 910-343-3880.
Stay with News 3 for updates.
