A week after Tyler Doyle’s boat sank, here’s what we know about the search going forward
As the hunt for missing boater Tyler Doyle stretched into its seventh day, volunteers assisting in rescue operations continue to center around Bald Head Island off the North Carolina coast.
That work will continue even as bad weather threatens, state Department of Natural Resources spokesman Greg Lucas said.
“The search for the missing boater continues, and agencies involved include S.C. Department of Natural Resources, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, North Carolina Marine Patrol, Brunswick County Sheriff’s Office and Sunset Beach Police Department. Local agencies also have officers checking the beaches: Sunset Beach Police Department and Holden Beach Police Department,” he said in an email. “The search will continue through the weekend unless a recovery is made.”
Josh Johnson, a friend of Doyle’s who has used his Facebook page to offer real-time updates on weather conditions and search operations, said Feb. 2 the pattern of ocean currents and recovery of Doyle’s and duck decoys offer clues to his possible whereabouts.
Doyle was last seen Jan. 26 in a jetty near Little River, when his jon boat reportedly started taking on water and sank as he was duck hunting.
“Understanding his decoys, waders, and ocean currents, with the strength of the channel we feel it may have pulled him in through bald head island or if he managed to slip by he is just off the coast of Wilmington,” Johnson wrote in a morning post.
Doyle’s wife, Lakelyn, said on her Facebook page Tuesday that waders and photos of what appeared to be Tyler’s license were discovered roughly two miles east of Ocean Isle Beach in North Carolina.
A small craft advisory is in place on Friday
The National Weather Service’s Wilmington office issued a small craft advisory from 6 a.m. Friday through noon Saturday as wind gusts of up to 30 knots are expected.
The NWS issues such an advisory either when winds reach dangerous speeds or because of other conditions such as ice.
Lucas said by text that “weather like this is always a concern and all precautions are taken,” when asked about concerns with some boats that are aiding in the search.
Since Doyle’s disappearance, local, state and U.S. Coast Guard have all joined the search, using air and sonar assets, Lucas told The Sun News earlier this week. Vessels from the state Department of Natural Resources, Horry County Fire Rescue, North Myrtle Beach Rescue Squad and Brunswick County, N.C. Sheriff’s Office have deployed.
The U.S. Coast Guard ended its search for Doyle on Jan. 28.
Meanwhile, others are scouring webcam footage from at least 14 North Carolina locations near where Doyle’s belongings were found, including areas around Holden Beach, Oak Island and the Cape Fear River in Wilmington.
