KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. (WNCN) — The U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday that crews had suspended a search off the North Carolina coast for a missing boater and his dog.
Scott Harmon Johnson, 46, of Kill Devil Hills was last seen by a neighbor on August 22 and his truck and boat trailer were later found at a boat ramp on Roanoke Island, according to a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard and Kill Devil Hills officials.
On Thursday, the Coast Guard received a report that Johnson and his dog Baxter were missing.
The neighbor who last saw Johnson told authorities Johnson was planning to take his 23-foot boat out to “troubleshoot a maintenance issue,” the news release said.
Johnson’s truck and boat trailer were found Thursday night by local detectives at the North Carolina Wildlife Access Boat Ramp under the Washington Baum Bridge near Pirate’s Cove Marina in Manteo.
It’s not known if Johnson was out in his 23-foot sport fisher vessel during Tropical Storm Idalia. The boat is an Apollo with a yellow hull, North Carolina registration NC3523DB, Kill Devil Hills officials said.
For the search, the Coast Guard said they used a Fast Response Cutter and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew that conducted search patterns off the coast of Manteo. The 7-hour search covered about 1,168 square miles, officials said.
Coast Guard crews also analyzed drift patterns and interviewed family members and friends, as well as worked with local authorities, to assist in search efforts.
The search was suspended Sunday but could restart if new information develops, the Coast Guard said.
