3 kids lost in dark while kayaking rescued off NC’s Outer Banks, officials say
.jpg "Three children were reported missing around 8:30 p.m. July 30, which is after sunset along North Carolina’s Outer Banks. They were found by the U.S. Coast Guard, but had become separated in the dark.")
Three children on a kayak got lost in the dark off North Carolina’s Outer Banks, leading searchers to a frightening scene, according to rescuers.
When the kayak was found late Wednesday, July 30, off Corolla, only one child was still on it, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release.
“Command Center watchstanders received a call at approximately 8:30 p.m. from the missing kayakers’ father, reporting his children, ages 15, 13, and 12, intended to paddle around a nearby island but had not returned,” the USCG said.
“The rescue helicopter crew ... located one of the children on a kayak. Two of the children had fallen overboard and were unable to get back on. The third could not assist the two children in the water due to the wind, and was paddling to a nearby house in an attempt to alert authorities.”
Searchers found the other two children a half an hour later, “wading in three to four feet of water,” officials said.
Their exact location along the barrier island was not released.
“The helicopter crew directed nearby ocean rescue small boats to the children’s location,” officials said. “All three children were rescued and transported to safety. No injuries were reported.”
Sunset in late July on the Outer Banks is just after 8 p.m. and the children were contending with wind gusts of up to 16 mph, officials said.
Corolla is a popular tourist destination on the northern end of the Outer Banks, about a 230-mile drive northeast from Raleigh.
This story was originally published August 1, 2025 at 1:55 PM with the headline "3 kids lost in dark while kayaking rescued off NC’s Outer Banks, officials say."