Kayaker vanishes on NC coast. Coast Guard, others searched 268 square miles.
A kayaker went missing on the NC coast, prompting an extensive search by multiple agencies.
The Coast Guard on Saturday night said it called off the search for 73-year-old Warren Liner after crews “saturated a search area of 268 square miles” over 24 hours.
“Tonight’s decision to suspend the search for Mr. Liner was tough,” Capt. Matt Baer, commander of Coast Guard Sector North Carolina, said in a news release.
“Our crews and the crews of our state and local partners did their best to find him, and we will keep his family in our thoughts,” Baer said.
Liner’s kayak was found Friday afternoon on Bear Island in Hammocks Beach State Park where he was last seen, Coast Guard officials said.
His wife called Onslow County 911 to report him missing when he failed to return from a kayaking trip, officials said.
Coast Guard crews on an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and several boats searched for Liner.
Rangers from Hammocks Beach State Park helped in the search, along with the N.C. Marine Patrol and others from Onslow and Pender counties, the towns of Swansboro and Emerald Isle and the city of Jacksonville
Anyone with information is asked to call the Coast Guard at 910-343-3880.
This story was originally published January 1, 2022 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Kayaker vanishes on NC coast. Coast Guard, others searched 268 square miles.."