Coast Guard suspends search for missing man near Galveston

HOUSTON— The Coast Guard has suspended a search for a man who went missing while swimming at a beach in Galveston, Sunday.

The search began for the man, 18, after watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston received a call from the Galveston Beach Patrol shortly before 3 p.m., Saturday, reporting that he was swimming with friends at 17th St. and Seawall Blvd., and never resurfaced.

The Coast Guard searched more than 32 square miles for over ten and a half hours with an MH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter and crew from Coast Guard Air Station Houston, and a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium from Coast Guard Station Galveston. Personnel from Galveston Beach Patrol and the Galveston Fire Department also assisted in the search.

“We decided to suspend the search due to the fact that eye witnesses reported that the man did not resurface after being submerged,” said Cmdr. Patrick Smith, Operations Section Chief at Sector Houston-Galveston. “Our thoughts go out to his family during this difficult time.”