Coast Guard searching off NC coast for boater who vanished during fishing trip

SOUTHPORT, N.C. (WNCN) — The U.S. Coast Guard is continuing a search for a North Carolina boater who vanished at sea during a fishing trip aboard a 32-foot center-console boat on Saturday.

Crews from Elizabeth City and Oak Island were checking areas Sunday between Blackjack and Steeples areas off the North Carolina coast, according to a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard Sunday night.

Jeffrey Kale, 47, from Clover, South Carolina, was last seen around 4 p.m. Saturday departing the Southport Wildlife Boat Ramp, officials said.

Kale was aboard a white 32-foot Cape Horn center-console boat before he and the vessel disappeared, the Coast Guard said.

Coast Guard officials in North Carolina received word from Kale’s family that he was overdue from a fishing trip around 10:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Blackjack and Steeples fishing areas are 7 miles apart and are located about 30 miles southeast of Southport.

Crews have used an HC-130 Hercules plane from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City and a 29-foot response boat from the Oak Island Coast Guard Station.

Also, a coastal patrol boat US Coast Guard Steelhead has been involved in the search.