Sea Tow captain one of first boats dispatched to reports of Tyler Doyle’s boat sinking
Christian Tucker had just sat down in his living room chair when he received a phone call about a person who was on a boat that was sinking.
As a boat captain for Sea Tow, calls that came in that evening of Jan. 26 were being forwarded to his cell phone, Tucker said Friday.
When he answered, a man on the other end said that his buddy was out in the water.
“You know how you can hear that someone was in a panic mode or distress?” Tucker said. “I jumped out of the chair. I didn’t even tell my daughter I was leaving.”
The caller was Brandon Tyler, a friend of Tyler Doyle, whose jon boat began taking on water, and made the initial call to Sea Tow.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources released 11 folders with dozens of files Thursday detailing their efforts and materials collected during their search of the missing boater.
The files, which contain photos, reports and phone records reviewed during the investigation, were released as part of a Freedom of Information Act request by The Sun News. Part of those files included the response and information, such as photos and video, provided by Sea Tow, which has locations in Myrtle Beach and Ocean Isle.
Christian Holden and Doyle, 22, of Loris, were duck hunting Jan. 26, when Doyle dropped off Holden on the north jetty in Little River and then went to scout out ducks, according to the SCDNR.
Doyle had called Holden, 21, of Aynor, stating his jon boat was taking on water and sinking.
A boating accident report from SCDNR attributes weather, hazardous waters, fault of machinery and fault of hull as contributing factors to the accident. The SCDNR has said no foul play is suspected.
The report states Doyle told Holden to call the U.S. Coast Guard and Sea Tow.
When calling Sea Tow, Tyler gave Tucker Doyle’s number. However, when Tucker tried to call the number, “it went straight to voicemail.”
Because Tucker lives near Sea Tow’s boat, he was able to get to the scene quickly, he said.
In the initial call released by the SCDNR, Brandon Tyler tells Tucker, “My buddy is out on the jetties where Bird Island is” and his boat is sinking. Tyler then asks Tucker if he could get out to him soon.
Tucker tells Tyler in a recording of the initial call that it would take him about 15 to 20 minutes to get to the jetties.
Tucker said when he reached the scene, he saw a guy standing on the rocks. “I didn’t know there were two people,” Tucker said.
Tucker said there was limited information, and another boat was next to the person on the jetties.
Tucker could see the jon boat sticking out of the water. A Horry County Fire Rescue boat that was near it began pulling away.
“I didn’t see (that) there was anything in the water or away from the boat. (There was) no debris field or people in the water,” Tucker said.
When he got to the boat, Tucker noted that it was a metal boat and that the gas tank was floating next to it but still attached to the boat. The bow was hissing air and Tucker knew it was about to be completely underwater.
“It was going down fast,” he said.
Tucker said the waters were rough that day. As Tucker was towing the boat back inside the jetties, he found out that there was still a person missing.
“People think that we are first responders,” but we’re not, Tucker said. “We’re a salvage and recovery company. … We’re like a tow truck in a traffic accident.”
Tucker, who said he has worked on the water for 20-plus years now, said he got a lot of criticism from people that he should have paid more attention to the person and not the boat.
“Of course, no joke,” Tucker said. “And if I’d seen anybody … I would have made them the priority.”
After Tucker secured the boat, he went back out to help with the search that evening, he said. He, along with his bosses of Sea Tow, also helped search the next day.
“There were some heinous rumors about me,” Tucker said. “I was worried what the family would say.”
But Tucker, who attended a prayer vigil for Doyle and has met with the family several times, said the family has been genuine. He said it’s contrary to the things people have been publishing online.
“Some things you can’t fake,” Tucker said. “Grief is one of those.”
This story was originally published March 17, 2023 at 12:23 PM.
