The Coast Guard searched for a possible person in the water Thursday after being alerted to an unmanned and adrift kayak off the coast of North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
At about 9 a.m., a good Samaritan used a VHF radio to contact watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England and report a yellow kayak with a black seat in the water with no person aboard. There was no contact information on board the kayak.
Coast Guard Station Castle Hill, in Rhode Island, immediately launched a 45-foot response boat crew to search the area from Quonset Point to Jamestown Bridge for a possible person in the water.
Six units from the Narragansett Bay Marine Task Force also assisted in the search.
“When there is a boat on the water with no person aboard, the Coast Guard will always search as if someone is in distress,” said Petty Officer 2nd Class Cody Seevers, an operations specialist in Sector Southeastern New England’s command center. “The Coast Guard recommends using ‘If Found’ stickers, or even a sharpie, to write a name and good contact number on all paddle craft. This allows the Coast Guard to locate an owner and determine whether a person is in real trouble or if their gear is simply adrift.”
The search for the yellow kayak’s owner was suspended due to lack of information. The Coast Guard is requesting anyone with information about the yellow kayak’s owner to please call Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England at 508-457-3211.
