Coast Guard suspends search for missing swimmer at Outer Banks

HATTERAS, N.C. — The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended a search for a man who disappeared while swimming with a boogie board near an Outer Banks inlet with treacherous currents.

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Various federal, state and local agencies searched for the man since he was reported missing Wednesday morning by Oregon Inlet. The Guard suspended its search late Wednesday after a crew found his boogie board by an old bridge.

The National Park Service has identified the missing swimmer as a 60-year-old man. His name has not been released. He was apparently not wearing a life jacket.

Officer 1st Class Scott Dempsey is a search-and-rescue coordinator at the Guard's 5th District in Portsmouth, Virginia. He says there have been at least six regional deaths of people not wearing life jackets in the past week alone.

Associated Press