SC boater has been missing for 11 days. Here’s how his disappearance has impacted the community

A boater in Horry County has gotten the attention of thousands of people nationwide as the search for him continues Monday - more than a week after his disappearance was first reported.

Duck hunter Tyler Doyle went missing from his 16-foot jon boat on Jan. 26. The boat sank after taking on water near a Little River jetty, authorities have said.

A jon boat is a small open flat-bottomed boat used primarily in shallow marshy areas.

The only other person on the jon boat was rescued from the north jetties, which links the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. That person has not been identified.

Family and friends on Facebook identified 23-year-old Doyle as the missing person. They have used the platform to provide updates on the search but have declined to talk to the media.

Since then, social media has become a way for people to keep up with the search, send money and share their thoughts and condolences to Doyle’s family and friends.

A total of 144,000 people are talking about Doyle on Facebook as of Monday. There are over a dozen Facebook groups dedicated to Doyle that have well over a 100,000 members altogether.

The family’s “Help find Tyler Doyle” page was public until Sunday after attracting 75,000 members.

On Twitter, users are also talking about Doyle’s disappearance. There are dozens of tweets under a “Tyler Doyle missing” search, and tweeters are using “#tylerdoyle” to share information about him.

As the conversation on social media continues Monday, agencies are still out searching for him.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources agency will be providing aerial support Monday and will have one boat in the water, department spokesman Greg Lucas said in a Monday email.

The Sunset Beach Police Department and the Holden Beach Police Department, which are both in North Carolina, are assisting with the search by checking beaches during the daytime.

“The weather has been a constant challenge for search and rescue personnel during this search and rescue operation between the rain and the cold,” Lucas added. “Air resources were not able to get in the air during several days of the search.”

He said the department will continue its search until Doyle is rescued or his body is recovered.

Last week, a variety of resources and technology have been deployed — from bloodhounds and helicopters to GPS tracking and sonar probes.

Items, including a duck decoy, have washed ashore near Sunset Beach and Ocean Isle Beach, according to a Facebook post by the Surf City Police Department in North Carolina.

Multiple agencies have participated in the search for Doyle. The U.S. Coast Guard suspended their search Jan. 27 after about 45 hours and more than 694 miles covered. The North Myrtle Beach Rescue squad stopped their daily searches Saturday.

Amid the searching, a candlelight vigil for Doyle was organized Sunday by fellow duck hunter Zack Beckham, according to Facebook.

It is not clear if he knows Doyle or his family personally.

This story was originally published February 6, 2023 at 11:11 AM.