SEATTLE — Port Angeles and Seattle Coast Guard members have suspended searches for two people reported to be in the water near Mercer Island in Lake Washington.
Federal, state and local agencies conducted search and rescue operations to locate a 33-year-old male, and a 31-year-old female, who were reported missing Monday night.
At 10 p.m. Monday, Mercer Island Police received a call from a local resident reporting loud music coming from a vessel offshore southwest of Mercer Island.
The Mercer Island Police Marine Unit responded and discovered the belongings of two persons, including cellphones and IDs, aboard the vessel.
Additionally, a truck and boat trailer belonging to the man were found at Gene Coulon Memorial Beach Park.
Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received the initial report from King County Dispatch at 11:51 p.m. Monday.
The Coast Guard launched a Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles MH-65 rescue helicopter crew and a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Seattle to conduct searches.
Coast Guard air and surface assets saturated the waters of Mercer Island in coordination with Mercer Island Police Department and Seattle Police Harbor Patrol using side-scan sonar.
“We searched extensively with our local partners for two days to locate the two people,” said Lt. Josh McElhaney, the command duty officer at the Sector Puget Sound Command Center.
“Suspending a search is one of the most difficult decisions the Coast Guard has to make and it is a decision that is made with great care and deliberation. We search for the missing as if one of our own is missing.”
The Coast Guard is asking the public to call the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound Command Center at 206-217-6001 with any information that can help locate the two missing people.
