Coast Guard Searched Raritan Bay After Overturned Kayak Report Wednesday Night

KEANSBURG, NJ - If you noticed a State Police helicopter and the U.S. Coast Guard off Keansburg fishing pier Wednesday night, they were combing the waters of Raritan Bay after a report of an adrift kayak was called in.

Someone reported seeing an overturned kayak adrift in the bay off the Keansburg fishing pier at around 8 p.m. Wednesday, Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier of the U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs told Patch. The Coast Guard responded from their station at Sandy Hook and were joined by a State Police helicopter as they searched the area for someone in the water. The Union Beach and Keyport fire departments also helped with the search. The search lasted for over an hour, until about 9:30 p.m.

However, police were eventually able to confirm with the kayak's owner that the boat was adrift and that nobody was in the water. The search was called off.

However, water rescues in Raritan Bay are not uncommon, especially as the weather warms up. Just over a week ago, a man floating in the frigid waters of Sandy Hook Bay had to be picked up by a passing motorboat after his kayak flipped near Naval Weapons Station Earle. That rescue happened on Sunday, April 9. Patch reported on that story here: Kayaker Rescued in Sandy Hook Bay Sunday

The Coast Guard looked for him, as did the Middletown volunteer fire department. The man was in 50-degree ocean water, but declined medical care after he was brought to ashore to Belford marina.