Search ongoing in SC waters for missing boater last seen at a Pawleys Island marina
Authorities are searching for a boater visiting from Indiana who has been missing for almost a week after setting sail from a Pawleys Island marina.
Kerry Van Arsdel was last seen leaving the Safe Harbor Reserve Harbor marina on May 19, Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Jason Lesley said in a news release. The yacht club is located south of Brookgreen Gardens along the Waccamaw River.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office, Midway Fire Rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division are searching for Van Arsdel, using boats, drones, helicopters and airplanes.
It’s unclear when the search started.
On Thursday, Yacht club members found Van Arsdel’s boat at Butler Island, several miles south of the marina, empty and with his personal property still on board, Lesley wrote.
Van Arsdel was known to anchor his boat near Butler Island and on other channels in the Waccamaw River. Police do not know what Van Arsdel last wore, but believe he may have been wearing a red shirt, according to Lesley.
The SCDNR and Georgetown County Sheriff’s Office marine units will continue looking on Sunday and Monday. Air searches were stopped because of oncoming weather, Lesley wrote.
