Missing Boater Found Safe

UPDATED AT 2:30 P.M.: A sailor feared lost at sea, triggering a search and rescue effort by the U.S. Coast Guard turned up safe and sound today in San Clemente.

Forty-nine-year-old Laguna Hills resident Joseph St. Jean, was feared lost at sea for more than 12 hours after his 24-foot sailboat was found tumbling in the drift near San Clemente Beach Tuesday night, and rescue crews found a backpack on board as well as a cell phone belonging to him.

However, shortly before noon, he approached a lifeguard near San Clemente Beach to report his boat wasn’t where he left it.

“He was never lost,” explained Orange County Harbor Patrol Dispatcher Brian Stanley.

However, the concern was raised because the way the boat was found created the possibility that he had fallen off, Stanley said.

“But, he had safely anchored his boat - he just doesn’t know where it went,” added Stanley.

Upon returning to his slip in Dana Point, St. Jean experienced a minor boat crash.