Candlelight vigil planned for missing duck hunter, as one group ends daily search
The North Myrtle Beach Rescue Squad ended its daily searches for duck hunter Tyler Doyle on Saturday.
“Our crews are exhausted and need to return to their families and jobs,” the nonprofit said in a Saturday Facebook post.
The missing boater was last seen Jan. 26 near a Little River jetty. His jon boat sank after taking on water, authorities have said. The rescue squad spent Saturday attempting a surface search but sea conditions didn’t allow scanning, according to the post.
But they were able to lend a hand to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, which is leading the search, and conduct side scans in the jetties. Greg Lucas, a spokesman with the department, has said the agency won’t stop looking for the duck hunter.
The department was also accompanied Saturday by crews from Brunswick County, Lucas shared in an email.
This past week, a variety of resources and technology have been deployed — from bloodhounds and helicopters to GPS tracking and sonar probes.
Amid the searching, a candlelight vigil for Doyle has been organized by fellow duck hunter Zack Beckham, according to Facebook.
It is not clear if he knows Doyle or his family personally.
In the Saturday post, he said the event, which is not a memorial service, will be Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Camp Woodie, a children’s camp in Pinewood.
“This is strictly a time where everyone comes together as a whole, and we have a moment of prayer and silence that Tyler is found safely, and pray over his family in this time of need,” the post states.
Beckham also requested that duck hunters bring duck calls. He added that at the request of the family, any money that is donated will go towards buying tracking devices for hunters to prevent an incident like Doyle’s from happening again.
