NEW ORLEANS – The Coast Guard ended its search for a person who went overboard in the Gulf of Mexico, 75 nautical miles off Vermilion Bay, on Wednesday.
The Coast Guard used 21 assets to search approximately 3,701 square miles over 56 hours.
“The decision to suspend a search is never an easy one,” said Cmdr. Michael Wolfe, a search and rescue mission coordinator at Sector New Orleans. “Our thoughts are with the family of the missing.”
Watchstanders were notified at 6:26 a.m. Wednesday by workers at the Renaissance Offshore’s Eugene Island 331 platform of a 54-year-old man entering the water.
Involved in the search were:
- Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew
- Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew
- Coast Guard Cutter Mako boatcrew
- Platform operators, offshore supply vessels and helicopters
- Blackwater diving
The cause of the incident is under investigation.
