Savannah-Chatham police and the U.S. Coast Guard aided the Department of Natural Resources and the Coast Guard in a search for a missing boater today in the Savannah River near the Fort Pulaski Bridge.
Police responded to scene at about 9:10 a.m. after a small boat collided with the bridge, said Eunicia Baker, Savannah-Chatham police spokeswoman. The boat reappeared without its operator, who is described as a white male in his early 20s to late 30s, Baker said.
He is believed to have been the sole occupant of the vessel. Officials found the boat but have not found the boater.
The initial report stated a boater was ejected from a 17-foot boat after it struck the bridge.
The Coast Guard also provided aerial support. Metro’s Islands Precinct patrol officers, Marine Patrol Unit and Underwater Search and Recovery Team (USRT) joined the search.
Svannah-Chatham police’s Marine Patrol and USRT ran side-scan sonar throughout the area of the missing boater’s last known location. There, two points of interest were marked and searched by divers.
Police cleared the scene upon completion of the dives, but will return at the request of DNR, which continues to search the area.
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