WILMINGTON, N.C. — The Coast Guard suspended their search Monday for a 15-year-old boy who reportedly fell off a 21-foot boat in the Trent River near River Bend.
Craven County 911 dispatch personnel contacted Coast Guard Sector North Carolina Command Center watchstanders at approximately 4:30 p.m. and reported the teen fell into the water and was not seen afterward.
Sector watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and dispatched a crew aboard a 24-foot Special Purpose Craft - Shallow Water from Coast Guard Station Hobucken to assist. An aircrew from Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and boat crews from the River Bend Fire Department, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and North Carolina Marine Patrol are also assisting in the search.
The Coast Guard boat crew suspended their search at approximately 10 p.m. Monday, and local agencies suspended their search around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.
A second Coast Guard boat crew from Station Hobucken arrived on scene at approximately 7:15 a.m. Tuesday and provided a safety zone for approximately two hours for local agencies conducting dive and side-scan sonar operations.