Authorities find body of missing boater in Port Royal Sound after days of searching
The body of the second missing boater was recovered on Thursday afternoon after an overturned vessel found near Harbor Island set off two days of searching, according to authorities.
Donald Oliver McCullock, 59, of St. Helena Island was found around 2:15 p.m. by rescue crews about five miles off Port Royal Sound, according to Beaufort County Chief Deputy Coroner David Ott.
Ott said a Coast Guard HC-130J airplane spotted his body from the air, and the S.C. Department of Natural Resources then flew a smaller plane to retrieve the body.
The other missing boater was found alive on Wednesday morning by a Good Samaritan in a sailboat. The man was found in a life raft, according to Ott.
He was hoisted to a Coast Guard helicopter and flown to Memorial Health Medical Center in Savannah, according to Vincent Moreno, a Coast Guard spokesperson.
On Thursday night, Moreno did not have an update on the boater’s condition but said he was not in any severe medical condition at the time.
McCullock and the other boater were first reported missing on Tuesday afternoon after authorities found an overturned shrimp boat off the coast of Harbor Island. Additionally, a family member of the boaters called the U.S. Coast Guard in Charleston on Tuesday afternoon to report the men had not returned when expected.
The boaters left around 5 a.m. on Tuesday, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.
Rescue crews from S.C. DNR, Parris Island Fire Department, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, Beaufort MRO, and Fripp Island Sea Rescue also assisted in the search.
With both boaters found, the Coast Guard has concluded its search, according to a news release.
An autopsy of McCullock will take place at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, said Ott. A date has not yet been scheduled.
This story was originally published November 19, 2020 at 8:44 PM.
