Missing duck hunter Tyler Doyle case has seen twists and turns. Here’s timeline of events
Nearly a year after Tyler Doyle went missing while duck hunting near the jetties in Little River, the case continues to take twists and turns.
The most recent is the announcement by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources that it has asked SLED to join in the investigation. It comes nine months after the agency ruled that no foul play was involved in the 22-year-old Loris man’s disappearance and it was a boating accident.
Here is a timeline of what has happened in the case since Doyle went missing on Jan. 26.
4:56 p.m. Jan. 26: Horry Fire Rescue posts on Facebook that they were dispatched to a watercraft in distress call in the area of the North Jetty in North Myrtle Beach. HCFR Marine Rescue team and North Myrtle Beach Rescue Squad crews were assisting U.S. Coast Guard in searching for any possible missing occupants.
5 p.m. Jan. 26: North Myrtle Beach Rescue Squad Water Rescue Team dispatched to a report of a vessel taking on water and sinking with two people on board. One was person was found and rescued from the north jetties, which links the Intracostal Waterway and the Atlantic Ocean. The post says the search and rescue operation was conducted well past dark.
Jan: 26: Doyle and a friend go duck hunting at the Little River jetties. Doyle drops the friend on the north jetties, then goes around the north jetty and leaves duck decoys. Doyle calls the friend saying his boat is taking on water and the motor keeps on stopping. The friend calls 911, which notifies the Coast Guard. The friend sees Doyle on the bow of his boat, which the tide is carrying out to sea.
About 8:30 a.m. Jan. 27: U.S. Coast Guard District 7 posts on Twitter that they are searching for a 23-year-old man in the vicinity of the Little River Jetties. The man was last seen wearing a camo jacket and khaki pants while duck hunting on a 16-foot john boat.
Jan. 31: Doyle’s waders were found by Doyle’s aunt and others while off the North Carolina shore.
Feb. 9: SCDNR lead investigator Ronnie Floyd wrote in a statement, two weeks after the Loris man was last seen, that he had looked into theories suggested online that Doyle may have met foul play, but found no evidence and believes that Doyle drowned and is still missing.
Feb. 13: SCDNR issues a release that no foul play is suspected in Doyle’s case. The department said that phone records, along with the data location information, witness interviews, a boat inspection and recovered items indicate this to be a boating/hunting accident.
March 2: SCDNR released 911 tapes from the night Doyle’s boat sank while duck hunting.
March 16: The SCDNR released 11 folders with dozens of files detailing their efforts and materials collected during their search of missing boater Tyler Doyle. It includes the name of the friend, Christian Holden. They were obtained by the Sun News through a Freedom of Information Act request.
April: Doyle was a soon-to-be dad when he went missing. His wife, Lakelyn, gave birth to the couple’s child, according to social media posts. The little girl was to be named Paisley, according to Lakelyn’s Facebook posts.
May: The family announced that Doyle was added into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, a national public clearinghouse for missing people.
Dec. 5: The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division was asked to join in the case of missing boater Tyler Doyle. SCDNR spokesperson Stephen Fastenau said by text Dec. 5 that the SCDNR continues to be the lead investigating agency on the boating accident involving Doyle. “We have received various tips from the public about possible sightings of Tyler Doyle,” Fastenau said. “To make sure all resources are being allocated, we requested SLED to review the file and assist with missing person inquiries.”
