ALAMEDA, Calif. – Coast Guard and local agencies continue the search for a 51-year old man near Big Sur, today.
Coast Guard Sector San Francisco received the report late Monday night from the Monterey County Sheriff’s Department that Randall Young of Morro Bay had been reported overdue by a friend when he had not returned from a camping trip in the Los Padres National Forest.
The Coast Guard has launched a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Station Morro Bay to conduct a shoreline search from Point Conception to Big Sur. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Sacramento and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station San Francisco have been deployed to provide aerial searches.
The Coast Guard Cutter Sockeye, an 87-foot patrol boat homeported in Bodega Bay, also conducted a shoreline search this morning.
California Highway Patrol and Monterey Sheriff’s Department are also conducting helicopter searches.
Young left last Wednesday for the Plaskett Creek Campground and was due to return by noon on Sunday, May 2.
When Young did not return, the friend went to the camp location on Sunday afternoon but did not find any of his belongings. She did, however, find Young’s vehicle located on a nearby road and made an initial report to the Monterey Sheriff’s office.
Monterey Sheriff Department contacted the Coast Guard because Young had taken a white kayak camping with him, and it has not been located. A kayak similar to Young’s was found by local residents on a beach, however, law enforcement authorities have been unable to confirm that it was Young’s kayak.
Anyone with information about Randall Young, a 6′ 3″ white male, is asked to contact either the Monterey Sheriff’s office at 831-647-7702, or the Coast Guard at 510-437-3701.
The Coast Guard reminds mariners that placing contact identification on your kayaks, canoes, surfboards, kiteboards and other water crafts could help authorities in a search if your property is located, could lead to your rescue, and can make it easier for your property to be returned to you.
