DRUM INLET, N.C. – Coast Guard and Marine Corps search crews are assisting the Army Corps of Engineers in the search for an overboard crewmember of an Army Corps vessel about 15 miles off Drum Inlet, south of Ocracoke Inlet Sunday.
Coast Guard helicopter, airplane, and rescue boat crews from Air Station Elizabeth City, boat stations Fort Macon and Hatteras Inlet, the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Cochito, and a Pedro helicopter rescue crew from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point are searching for a crewmember of the Army Corps vessel Major General Winfield Scott, homeported in Fort Eustis, Va.
The Army Corps of Engineers contacted Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector North Carolina at 11:20 a.m. requesting assistance in the search for the crewmember.
Other crewmembers of the Major General Winfield Scott last saw the crewmember on the bridge of the vessel. After he disappeared they searched the entire ship before declaring a man overboard.
“You should definitely always wear a life vest while you’re on the water,” said Lt. John Strasburg, chief of the Sector North Carolina command center. “Life vests provide buoyancy and reduce the amount of energy expended staying above the water, which allows the person in the water to focus more on retaining
