Missing sailors headed to Florida found safe: Coast Guard

(NEW YORK) — Two men who went missing more than a week ago while sailing to Florida have been found safe, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Kevin Hyde, 64, and Joe DiTommasso, 76, departed Cape May, New Jersey, late last month on their 30-foot sailboat, the Atrevida II, along with a pet dog, according to the Coast Guard. The pair was last seen aboard their boat as it left the Oregon Inlet in North Carolina’s Outer Banks on Dec. 3.

Family and friends contacted officials on Sunday after last speaking with the pair on that same day, prompting a search that included aircraft and vessels, the Coast Guard said.

The Atrevida II was located Tuesday afternoon approximately 214 miles east of Delaware, after the men waved down the tanker vessel Silver Muna, the Coast Guard said.

“The Atrevida II was found to be without fuel and power, rendering their radios and navigation equipment inoperable,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The two men and dog were brought aboard the tanker at 4:18 p.m. and evaluated by the vessel’s medical staff “with no immediate concerns,” the Coast Guard said. They will remain on the vessel until its next port of call in New York, where they will be transferred to a Coast Guard vessel for further evaluation and to be reunited with their family, the Coast Guard said.

According to officials, the pair left port at Cape May on Nov. 27 and was traveling to Marathon, Florida.