TACOMA — The Coast Guard suspended the active search for a missing boater near Tacoma today at 1 p.m.
Crew members aboard the Coast Guard cutter Swordfish, an 87-foot patrol boat based in Port Angeles, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Station Port Angeles and a 45-foot response boat-medium from Station Seattle searched an area of about 35 square miles for more than 14 hours.
“Suspending a search is a very difficult decision to make and is done with great care and deliberation,” said Lt. John Mckenzie, a search and rescue controller at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound.
“Our thoughts are with the family of the missing man at this time.”
Dispatchers for Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound in Seattle were notified by Pierce County dispatchers of an alcohol-related collision between two boats and four people in the water at 11 p.m. Saturday.
A boat carrying four people reportedly collided with another boat carrying two people, resulting in serious injuries. The vessel carrying four people then capsized, sending four people into the water. Pierce County marine units transferred two injured people to Harborview Medical Center.
Pierce County marine units recovered three other people from the water. The operator of the boat was subsequently arrested by the Tacoma Police Department and taken into custody.
