What happened to Tyler Doyle? Horry County duck hunter last seen one year ago
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) — The last time anyone saw 23-year-old Tyler Doyle he was duck hunting on a jon boat in the north jetties near Little River.
Friday marked the first anniversary of his disappearance in the area that links the Intracoastal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. Crews responded to the area after getting a report of a boat that was sinking.
Authorities found the boat and rescued another person, but Doyle has remained missing, despite lengthy searches involving local authorities, the U.S. Coast Guard, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and others.
The search eventually extended into the Brunswick County, North Carolina, area, where the Oak Island Water Rescue squad reported finding items belonging to Doyle. Family members later shared on Facebook that the items found were waders and a wallet containing money and a South Carolina identification card.
In early February, the search moved even farther north, to the Wilmington area. Scuba diving expert Chris Slog explained how currents could have pushed Doyle north.
“As soon as you get out into the ocean, those wind-driven currents tend to push north along the beach,” Slog said. “At a 2-knot current, that’s 48 miles in 24 hours, so it’s extremely likely he could be all the way here in Wilmington.”
As the search continued to come up empty, interest in the case continued to grow, with questions about possible foul play coming to the surface. However, in mid-February, The SCDNR said it had no evidence of anything sinister happening.
The DNR said there was a small-craft advisory in effect at the time Doyle disappeared, explaining that the“seas were rough and not conducive for smaller vessel operation.”
“Weather conditions that day, coupled with boating mechanical issues, appear to be the predominant contributing factors,” the DNR said in a news release.
As Doyle remained missing, family and friends also focused their attention on a prayer vigil in late February. During the vigil at the T. Craig Campbell Boat Landing in Little River, organizers had a group duck call on the dock at sunset.
“There’s no evidence of death, so we’re still looking for life,” pastor Jimmy Floyd of the Dogwood Hill Baptist Church said. “Although many have said it’s impossible, there’s nothing impossible with God.”
In April, as Doyle remained missing, the DNR said the search had already consumed countless hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars but that crews were still looking and hoping to bring closure to his family.
Later, six months after Doyle’s disappearance, the DNR said it had begun coordinating with the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System in the search. At the time, a spokesman said investigators were working with the missing-persons system to collect DNA samples for comparison.
A few weeks later, News13 talked to Doyle’s father, Brian.
“We’re just trying to get the truth out there and find Tyler,” he said.
Brian Doyle said when he was told his son went missing, he almost had a nervous breakdown. Tyler was Brian’s first-born child, and Brian said no parent should have to experience this pain.
“Your worst fear. It’s the worst fear that any parent that cares about their children could ever have,” he said.
Not much changed in the case until December, when the DNR said SLED had been asked to help out in its investigation of the case.
“We have received various tips from the public about possible sightings of Tyler Doyle,” a DNR spokesman said in an email to News13. “To make sure all resources are being allocated, we requested SLED to review the file and assist with missing person inquiries.”
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Dennis Bright is a Digital Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on, Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here.
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