‘Tyler was panicking and said I’m sinking’: SCDNR timeline of night Tyler Doyle disappeared
Ronnie Floyd, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources’ lead investigator of the Tyler Doyle case, described the hours surrounding when Tyler Doyle’s jon boat took on water.
The SCDNR released 11 folders with dozens of files Thursday detailing their efforts and materials collected during their search of missing boater Tyler Doyle. They were obtained by the Sun News through a Freedom of Information Act request.
Floyd wrote in a Feb. 9 statement, two weeks after the Loris man was last seen, that he had looked into theories suggested online, but found no evidence and believes that Doyle drowned and is still missing.
“With all the many super sleuths out there on the internet and the many tips and stories I have listened to, I still at this point do not have any information that would lead me to any other conclusion other than that Tyler Doyle is drowned in a boating incident and has yet to be located.”
Floyd’s statement lays out a rough timeline of the events of the night Tyler Doyle went missing.
On Jan. 26, Tyler Doyle and Christian Holden go duck hunting at the Little River jetties.
Doyle drops Holden on the north jetties, then goes around the north jetty and leaves duck decoys. The two stay in contact by phone.
Doyle goes around the south jetty and Holden loses sight of the boat.
Doyle calls Holden saying his boat is taking on water and the motor keeps on stopping. He asks Holden to call the Coast Guard and Sea Tow.
A panicking Doyle calls Brandon Tyler, a boat mechanic, who gives suggestions on how to keep the motor running. The mechanic then calls for Sea Tow to come.
Holden calls 911, which notifies the Coast Guard. Holden sees Doyle on the bow of his boat, which the tide is carrying out to sea.
While on the line with 911, Holden, with a gun in hand, spots a passing boat and waves his arm to flag them down. One of the boaters initially thought Holden was shooing them away from hunting grounds, but “His wife saw Christian still waving frantically and said no he needs our help.” They got close enough to hear Christian say someone was missing and the boat went out to search.
Holden calls his friend with a boat, Todd “TJ” Brown, and “urgently asked him to come help.”
A hunter nearby, Davis Pander, called Doyle “just inquiring if they were having a good hunt and Tyler was panicking and said I’m sinking, help, and call USCG.”
A Horry County Fire Rescue boat was on scene within nine minutes of being dispatched. They spot a gas can in the choppy waves and find it is still attached to the boat Doyle was using. Only a foot of the boat’s bow was visible. Sea Tow later moved the boat to Waities Island.
A swimmer from North Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue goes to the north jetty with a life vest and Holden swims to the rescue boat. Holden shows signs of hypothermia from the 50-degree water. Holden was put in an ambulance, but when his girlfriend arrived with dry clothes, Holden “got out the ambulance [in] his boxers and a blanket, refusing transport and sat in her car before changing and going to the landing.” There he said he wouldn’t leave until Doyle was found.
That day, confusion about how Holden swam and then was dry led to Doyle’s family accusing Holden of foul play, according to the report.
Doyle’s wife Lakelynn provided Floyd with screenshots of Doyle’s Life360, a location-sharing app, which corroborated Holden’s description of the events.
On Jan. 31, Doyle’s waders were found by Doyle’s aunt and others while off the North Carolina shore.
