A kite surfer may have gone missing on Thanksgiving after falling off a kiteboard near Ocean City, New Jersey.
The surfer, dressed in all black, was last seen drifting out to sea in Corson Inlet after separating from the board on Thursday afternoon, the US Coast Guard said.
Three neighboring Coast Guard stations deployed search crews to find the missing person: Station Atlantic City took off in a 47-foot lifeboat, Sector Delaware Bay in Philadelphia launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and Station Cape May embarked in a 45-foot response boat.
Search parties found a black and white “Ocean Rodeo Cypher 10” kite in the water but did not locate the board or missing surfer, the Ocean City Police Department said.
“The OCPD has no missing persons reports from family or friends and no property or vehicles were found on the beach in the area,” police said. “Our hopes are that the individual safely returned to shore after separating from the kite and prior to first responders arriving to the scene.”
Tipsters who know someone who went kite surfing in the area on Thanksgiving afternoon are encouraged to contact the Sector Delaware Bay command center at 215-271-4960.