Coast Guard rescues boaters stranded on Horn Island

The Coast Guard’s Pascagoula station rescued a pair of boaters Monday who were stranded on Horn Island overnight.

The Coast Guard received a call about 10 a.m. from one of its air crews that had spotted a 14-foot aluminum boat with camouflage exterior adrift nera Horn Island. A response boat out of Pascagoula was sent to search for the boat.

Once located, the crew boarded the boat and found a cooler with ice still in it, a cell phone and a wallet.

Using the cell phone and identification from the wallet, and with help from 911 dispatch, the Coast Guard was able to contact relatives of the boat owner. From family, the Coast Guard learned the owner and a friend had become stranded on Horn Island.

A helicopter from New Orleans that was already in the air was sent to Horn Island and found the boaters on the beach. They brought them aboard and brought them to the Gulfport-Biloxi International Airport.

There were no injuries.