Two people missing near the Outer Banks after fishing boat overturns, Coast Guard says
A fishing boat discovered overturned off the North Carolina coast Tuesday morning has prompted a massive search effort for the two people reportedly on board, officials say.
The U.S. Coast Guard received a report around 8 a.m. that a 35-foot recreational vessel was on its side about 3-and-a-half miles from Beaufort Inlet, officials said in a news release.
“A family member of one of the passengers confirmed with watchstanders that the vessel departed Atlantic Beach Sunday with two persons on board to fish near shore,” the release states.
Beaufort Inlet runs just west of Cape Lookout near the southern tip of the Outer Banks. It connects the Bogue Sound with the Atlantic Ocean, and its main channel is about 30 feet deep, according to NCPedia. The inlet is also home to the wreckage of Queen Anne’s Revenge, which belonged to the pirate Blackbeard before it ran aground in 1718.
The Coast Guard sent a diver to the overturned fishing boat and found “all the lights and gear were still energized,” but no one was on board, officials said.
Search and rescue operations began almost immediately.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the search spanned about 200 square nautical miles and included a 47-foot motor life boat, a Jayhawk helicopter, the Coast Guard Cutter Seahawk and a small boat from the Atlantic Beach Fire Department.
Anyone with information about the boat can contact the Coast Guard Sector North Carolina command Center at 910-343-3880.
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Two people missing near the Outer Banks after fishing boat overturns, Coast Guard says."
