OAK ISLAND, N.C. — The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a Charlotte business owner who went missing off the North Carolina coast on Saturday after his boat was found near Wrightsville Beach, officials said.
Jeffrey Kale, 47, went fishing in the Atlantic Ocean on April 6, but his boat never returned to shore and Kale's family hasn't heard from him, according to Oak Island Police. The Coast Guard told WECT-TV that Kale's boat was found more than 80 miles off the coast of Wrightsville Beach on Tuesday. No one was on board the vessel.
The search to find Kale has now been suspended for the second time since Monday evening. On Tuesday, the search was resumed after Kale's boat was located. The U.S. Navy assisted the Coast Guard in the search.
On Wednesday night, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that the search was suspended again after crews spent 100 combined hours searching an area of more than 11,690 square miles off the coast.
Kale was last seen around 4 p.m. on Saturday on his 32-foot Cape Horn boat with hull number NC4431FA. Rescue crews searched between the fishing areas of Blackjack and Steeples. Rescue crews ultimately searched for roughly 72 hours combined, covering over 7,762 square miles.
Detectives said they had been in touch with Kale's family and were following up on a few leads about his possible location. The Coast Guard searched popular fishing locations and specific areas in the ocean based on previous trips made by Kale and information provided by his family.
Kale, who is from Clover, owns a landscaping business in Charlotte.
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