LOS ANGELES — At 7:45 a.m., the Coast Guard suspended the search for a missing boater near Santa Barbara.
The Coast Guard launched several assets to assist with the search of a missing boater after his vessel was reported to have sank Friday, February 26, 2016. Assets included Coast Guard Cutters Blacksfin and Aspen, a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles and a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station San Diego.
Searches were conducted throughout the night, as well as a first light search at 6:45 a.m., Saturday by an MH-65 Dolphin Helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles.
“It is always a difficult decision to end an active search, however, Coast Guard crews saturated the area for 16 hours in search for the missing crewman,” said Capt. Jennifer Williams, commanding officer, Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach.
The missing individual was reported to be wearing a black shirt, black pants and did not have a lifejacket.
If anyone has information on the location of the missing crewman, contact Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles/Long Beach Command Center at (310) 521-3801.
The Coast Guard would like to remind boaters to:
- Always wear a life jacket. Since there is little time to reach for stowed vests when accidents occur, wearing one at all times reduces your risk of drowning. Federal law requires you to have a personal floatation device on board for each passenger.
- File a float plan. A float plan is simply letting family and friends know where you are going and your expected time of return. File a float plan with someone who is not getting underway with you and stick to the plan. If you change plans, contact the person. A float plan assists responders in the search of an overdue boater who may be in distress.
- Have a signaling device to communicate distress on the water. Boaters should have a marine-band radio, signal flares and an emergency position-indicating radio beacon to alert first responders. Boaters can reach the Coast Guard on marine-band radios on VHF channel 16 24/7, and an EPIRB provides search-and-rescue coordinators with vital information such as phone numbers and the description and type of vessel, which allows the Coast Guard to respond much quicker.
