An extensive search for a possible missing boater in the Piscataqua River, triggered by a floating life jacket and an empty dinghy a half-mile away, was suspended at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday after authorities concluded that no one was likely missing.
The U.S. Coast Guard out of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Marine Patrol and a Coast Guard helicopter from Cape Cod searched for a possible missing boater for about 3½ hours.
The search was launched shortly after the life jacket was discovered at 11:57 a.m., said Coast Guard Command Duty Officer Michael Faivre. The life jacket was spotted near the liquid nitrogen gas tanks on the river above Portsmouth.
Coast Guard Lt. Scott McCann said searchers covered 16 square miles of the river and didn’t see any trace of someone who might have fallen overboard. He also noted that the dinghy’s oars were stored inside the boat and there were no reports of a boater who was overdue to return.
McCann said the search will resume if officials receive any new information.
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