MILBRIDGE, Maine — The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a possible missing kayaker off the coast of Milbridge “after exhausting all search possibilities,” according to a Thursday news release.
The search started around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday after a man broadcasted three mayday calls over broken radio transmissions. Over the next 19 hours, the U.S. and Canadian coast guards, Maine Marine Patrol and other agencies combed a search area that covered 456 square miles without any result.
It’s believed the man issued the calls for help after falling out of his kayak near Bois Bubert Island, a southern part of Milbridge, according to the Coast Guard.
Coast Guard Station Jonesport launched a 47-foot motor lifeboat and the 87-foot “Amber Jack” patrol boat with crews, and Station Southwest Harbor launched a 29-foot response boat and crew to search the area.
A MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew launched from Air Station Cape Cod, and the Canadian aircraft was assisted by three Maine Marine Patrol boats and aircraft out searching the water.
Anyone with information about the man’s whereabouts is asked to call the Coast Guard’s Northern New England sector at 741-5422.
BDN writer Nok-Noi Ricker contributed to this report.
Follow Nick McCrea on Twitter at @nmccrea213.