ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, January 13, 1997 TAG: 9701130078
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH
SOURCE: Associated Press
A man clinging to a paddle survived 14 hours in 40-degree water after a small boat he was in capsized, casting him and four companions into North Carolina's Currituck Sound.
The survivor's 8-year-old son and two others, including a 6-year-old boy, died and another man was missing when the Coast Guard suspended its search Sunday.
The survivor, Michael Labounty of Moyock, N.C., was plucked from about six feet of water by a Coast Guard helicopter crew about 9 p.m. Saturday, said Petty Officer Brandon Brewer, a Coast Guard spokesman in Portsmouth.
Labounty, in his mid-30s, was flown to Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City, N.C., for treatment of severe hypothermia. He was in stable condition, the Coast Guard said.
The body of his son, Michael Labounty Jr., was found Sunday about 8:20 a.m. The bodies of Johnny Melson, in his mid-30s, and his son, Johnny Melson Jr., 6, were found Saturday night - one by the Coast Guard, and one by family members conducting their own search.
The Melsons are from Coinjack, N.C., in Currituck County, which adjoins Virginia's southeast coast.
Philip Boedker, 51, of Chesapeake, was missing. The Coast Guard estimated average survival time in the frigid water at less than two hours.
Brewer said the five were reported missing about 6:45 p.m. Saturday after they failed to return from a duck-hunting trip to Monkey Island in Currituck Sound.
A large-scale air and water search was launched as dark settled in. Only the children were wearing life jackets, Brewer said.
``The boat capsized just east of Monkey Island, but we don't know about how far off,'' Brewer said.
Once the five were in the water, they were apparently unable to stay close together, Brewer said.
The water temperature in the area where Labounty was rescued was 40 degrees and the air temperature was 36 degrees. Brewer said Labounty was wearing waders made from a synthetic rubber which can provide some flotation and insulation from the cold.
Brewer said the five had set out on the six-mile trip from Coinjock to Monkey Island about 5:30 a.m. Saturday.
Labounty told authorities the 17-foot Polar craft they were in swamped at about 7 a.m. Seas were running at four to five feet, with 30 mph winds.
Donnie Beacham, director of Emergency Services for Currituck County, said searchers recovered clothing and shotguns from the area where the boat went down, but were unsuccessful in finding the remaining victim.
LENGTH: Medium: 57 lines KEYWORDS: FATALITYby CNB