WILMINGTON – The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a 48-year-old diver who went missing 30 miles off the Cape Fear Coast after his equipment reportedly malfunctioned.
Crews covered 180 square miles during the more than 29-hour search for the man. The search was suspended at about 1:40 p.m. Friday, according to a notice from U.S. Coast Guard. It had begun at about 10:50 a.m. on Thursday, when the Coast Guard was notified a diver from the vessel Atlantis experienced an equipment failure and did not resurface from the water.
The Coast Guard dispatched a 47-foot life boat from Station Oak Island, a 45-foot response boat from Station Wrightsville Beach, and a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City during the search. The search also involved the 110-foot Coast Guard Cutter Cushing and 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Ibis.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the missing diver. Suspending a search effort is always one of our most difficult decisions,” Cmdr. Matt Moorlag, Chief of Response at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina, said.
