Search and rescue crews worked through the night and into a second full day looking for boaters still missing after a violent storm capsized vessels taking part in the Dauphin Island Regatta over the weekend, officials said.
U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Seth Johnson said crews would continue searching overnight and into the following day, with rescuers focused on finding survivors. By Sunday morning, one additional body had been recovered, bringing the confirmed death toll to two. Five people remained unaccounted for.
Captain Duke Walker, commander of Coast Guard Sector Mobile, said during a Sunday morning briefing on Dauphin Island that the missing and deceased include not just regatta participants but other boaters who happened to be on Mobile Bay when the storm hit. Officials said they had also received at least one report of a missing person unconnected to the race. Walker said the Coast Guard knows the identities of the five missing individuals but was not releasing their names.
According to Walker, at least 10 vessels capsized or were disabled during the storm, three of which were competing in the regatta. A previously scheduled Sunday evening press conference was postponed to Monday morning after officials said there were no major new developments to report.
The Fairhope Yacht Club hosted this year’s race, which rotates annually among four yacht clubs on Mobile Bay. Club commodore Gary Garner said members were devastated by what happened and were cooperating fully with search and rescue efforts, though organizers declined to discuss whether the race should have been scheduled differently given the weather.
Multiple agencies joined the search, including Coast Guard aircraft and small boats, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency marine patrol and air units, and Mobile County Sheriff’s Office vessels. ALEA Marine Patrol Chief Steve Thompson said he had briefed ALEA Secretary Spencer Collier and Governor Robert Bentley on the situation.
Despite the tragedy, organizers said a previously scheduled concert series on Dauphin Island would continue Sunday evening, though the mood on the island remained somber as families waited for word on their loved ones.