Search underway for missing canoeist near Sackets Harbor

CLEVELAND — The U.S. Coast Guard and several other agencies are searching for a 68-year-old man who went missing after the canoe he and his son were in capsized in the Black River near Sackets Harbor, N.Y., Saturday.

The son used his cell phone to call for help about 5:30 p.m. and reported that his father had drifted away with their canoe after the vessel capsized.

Currently, rescue boatcrews aboard a 47-foot motor lifeboat from U.S. Coast Guard Station Oswego, N.Y., and a Canadian coast guard Griffin helicopter are searching. An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Detroit is en route. Also assisting have been the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Dexter, N.Y., Fire Department and Jefferson County resources.

Responders located the canoe but are continuing to search for the missing man, who is reportedly wearing a dark blue shirt and pants and a camouflage jacket. He was reportedly not wearing a lifejacket.

At the request of the son, neither man’s name is being released at this time.