A message in a bottle found on a Potato Point beach has sparked an air search between Broulee Island, Bermagui and Montague Island.
Eden water authorities acting senior sergeant Steve Winslow stated the message was dated January 2 and was found on Monday morning by campers.
It read “enough food for 2 days, out of fuel, scared, send help”.
It commonly noted latitude and longitude coordinates, and names of a male and woman.
Mr Winslow stated the location was a quarter of a mile west of Montague Island, Narooma.
On Tuesday, the Moruya-Based Westpac Lifesaver Rescue helicopter was tasked to search for any particles or boats along the coastline in between Broulee Island and Montegue Island.
It suspended its search after an hour.
“The two names on the note, we have browsed our systems for and there is no record,” sergeant Winslow stated.
“We also searched the AFP, Victorian and Queensland police records and nothing came up.
“We have actually called the Australian Maritime and Customs and they have no record of the names.”.
Mr Winslow would not state if the circumstance was possibly thought about a hoax.
“You can never make certain. We are just doing exactly what we can at the moment, without launching a complete search.” he stated.
“Marine Rescue has absolutely nothing on their systems, there has been no EPIRB activation, no flares, no distress signal or anything.”.
The Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter CEO Stephen Leahy stated the helicopter was charged by NSW Cops to search the waters off the Far South Coast after a message in a bottle was discovered, recommending two people were in distress.
“Lifesaver 23 searched the coastline in between Broulee and Bermagui, then the waters around Montague Island,” he stated.
“(The crew was) trying to find a vessel that might be in distress, any persons that might be in the water or any particles or other indications that a boat had actually sunk.
“Nothing of interest was found by the team.
“The helicopter had triggered its Radio Direction Finder which is a gadget that spots and triangulates distress beacon signals. No distress signal was found at any stage of the search.”.
The search lasted over an hour and has actually now been completed.
Source: www.batemansbaypost.com
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