Officials have declared the search for the boater missing on the Delaware River a recovery operation, according to DNREC spokesman Michael Globetti.
Globetti said DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police responded to a boating accident Friday night on the Delaware River south of the C&D Canal in which a small boat capsized and left the operator and a passenger in the water.
The boat operator reached shore safely, but emergency responders could not locate the second person who had been aboard the capsized boat Friday night, according to Globetti.
Crews from the Port Penn and Delaware City Fire Companies along with DNREC, Fish and Wildlife marine units, Delaware State Police Aviation and the U.S. Coast Guard searched for the missing man late into the evening on Friday.
Globetti said a search of the river Saturday for the missing boat passenger was unsuccessful. The search will resume Sunday after having been declared a recovery operation by Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police.
Earlier today officials with the Coast Guard confirmed that they were searching for the boater, saying watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay command center received a report that a boater contacted emergency services when his friend went missing after their boat capsized in waters around Augustine Beach.
A Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew was launched along with a Coast Guard Station Philadelphia boat crew to search the area where the man went missing.
It was around 8:00, Friday, when crews were first dispatched to the area of Augustine Beach, where they searched for the missing man that was last seen holding onto a cooler and a life jacket.
Crews reported finding debris in the water and on the shoreline, however, they were unable to locate a vessel. Crews also searched the shoreline using ATVs and police k-9 units as the night went on.
Few details surrounding the search on Saturday have been released.
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