COROLLA, N.C. (WAVY) — Three children were rescued after they went missing while kayaking near Corolla, North Carolina Wednesday evening.
Coast Guard Sector North Carolina command center received a call from the father of the missing children around 8:30 p.m. reporting his children (ages 15, 13 and 12) intended to paddle around a nearby island but had not returned.
The watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and directed the launch of a Coast Guard Station Elizabeth City 29-foot Response Boat-Small boatcrew. A nearby Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew also diverted to the scene.
Upon arrival, the rescue helicopter crew located one of the children on a kayak. The two other children had fallen onboard and were unable to get back on. They were located wading in three to four feet of water approximately 30 minutes later.
Due to the wind, the third child could not assist the two children in the water and paddled to a nearby house in an attempt to alert authorities. Weather conditions at the time of the rescue were 10 mph winds with gusts of 16 mph and approximately 1-foot seas.
The helicopter crew directed nearby ocean rescue small boats to the children’s location. All three children were rescued and taken to safety.
There were no injuries reported.
