Search Suspended For Man, Children Reported In Water Off Maine Coast

KENNEBUNKPORT, Maine (CBS/AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for a man and three children who were reported to be in the water off the Maine coast.

A spokesman said the search was suspended at 8:21 a.m. Sunday pending further developments. Lt. Matthew Odom said searchers found no sign of a capsized boat, debris or people. He also said no one contacted authorities to report the group missing.

The Coast Guard says a man reported that he was with three children in a 14-foot boat that capsized Saturday 12 miles (19 kilometers) off Kennebunkport.

He said they were in the water with life jackets.

The Coast Guard sprang into action with boats, a helicopter and an airplane. The search area covered about 530 square miles (1,370 square kilometers).

"We take all calls for help seriously," said Cdr. James McLay, Search and Rescue Mission Coordinator at Sector Northern New England. "We utilized every resource at our disposal and applied an extraordinary amount of search effort to locate these boaters.  If there was anyone in distress we gave them the best possible chance for rescue."

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)