Boater rescued south of Hawaii after 12 days adrift

(Reuters) - The Navy rescued a boater who had been adrift for 12 days off the coast of Hawaii, the Coast Guard said on Wednesday. Ron Ingraham, 67, who is from the island of Molokai, was alone on a 25-foot sailing boat and had originally sent out a distress signal by radio on Nov. 27, saying his boat was taking on water in a storm, a representative for the Coast Guard command center in Hawaii said. Officials repeatedly responded to the rescue signal and searched for five days but called the search off when they got no response, the Coast Guard told Reuters. On Tuesday morning, another Mayday call came in and indicated where the sailboat was, the Coast Guard said. "There was a Navy vessel operating close to the position," about 55 miles south of Honolulu, the Coast Guard representative said. Ingraham was transferred to a Coast Guard cutter that was taking him to his home port in Hawaii on Wednesday. CNN, citing local authorities, reported that Ingraham was found weak, hungry and dehydrated. (Reporting by Fiona Ortiz in Chicago; Editing by Susan Heavey)