Screams for help off Outer Banks lead boat to man who drifted for 5 hours, NC team says

The discovery of an empty sailboat along North Carolina’s Outer Banks eventually led to a screaming man in the dark who had been adrift for about five hours, the U.S. Coast Guard reports.

It happened late Monday, May 6, on the Roanoke Sound side of Bodie Island, about a 200-mile drive east of Raleigh.

The 70-year-old boater was hospitalized and will recover, officials said. His identity has not been released.

Nags Head Fire Rescue reports the mysterious empty boat was found around 6:45 p.m.

“A man had launched a small sailboat from the Harvey public sound access .... but the boat had washed ashore north of the access at Jockey’s Ridge State Park. With strong west/southwest winds, two to three feet of swell, and cold water, the situation was very serious,” the department said in a news release.

“Our rescue boat was deployed and we worked to understand the wind and drift pattern. After initiating a search grid, we heard someone yelling from the water.”

The man was located about a half a mile from shore, and was wearing a life jacket, officials said.

He was pulled from the water around 8 p.m. and treated for undisclosed medical issues. Once ashore, he was taken to the Outer Banks Hospital, officials said.

“If he was not wearing a life jacket, he may have not survived out there,” U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Nicholas M. Pavlik said in a news release.

“His diligence to wear protective gear while on the water contributed to his life being saved. As we approach the warmer months of the year, it should be noted that warmer temperatures do not mean warmer water.”

The man was in the water about five hours, officials said. He had been boating in an inflatable catamaran sailboat, a part of which was located in a marsh near Jockey’s Ridge, officials said.

This story was originally published May 8, 2024 at 7:20 AM with the headline "Screams for help off Outer Banks lead boat to man who drifted for 5 hours, NC team says."