THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, March 30, 1996 TAG: 9603300283
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LARRY W. BROWN, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
The Coast Guard was to resume a search today for three crewmen missing from a capsized survey boat that left Hilton Head, S.C., with four Hampton Roads men and a man from Charleston, S.C., Wednesday.
On Friday, the Coast Guard reported finding two bodies, but the victims were not identified.
The Hampton Roads men were identified as Mike Clarke, 60, of Virginia Beach; Mark Piffer, 45, of Norfolk; Brad Lazarus, 40; and Rodney Meyers, 30.
The home cities of Lazarus and Meyers were not available. The Charleston man was identified as Berry Douglas.
All five had been reported missing Thursday morning, after their 27-foot boat overturned during a storm. The boat had been taking soil samples from the ocean floor off Hilton Head.
The crew of a Coast Guard helicopter spotted one body Friday morning after it washed ashore at Wassaw Island, about 15 miles from where the boat was spotted.
The other body was found several hours later in the ocean nearby, according to the Coast Guard in Miami.
Scott Carr, a Coast Guard spokesman, said the four Hampton Roads men worked for the Exmar Corp. of Norfolk.
A spokesman for the company said the men left Norfolk a week ago. He said Douglas, the Charleston resident, did not work for Exmar.
Carr said the men were last seen Wednesday night, when they left the Palmetto Bay Marina on Hilton Head to collect samples in the shoal waters south of the island. They were sent out to locate sand for a beach renourishment project.
Seas were calm, but the weather deteriorated as a front approached and gale warnings were issued Wednesday.
Carr said a private seagoing tow vessel spotted the capsized boat about 10 a.m. Thursday.
The Coast Guard was called and the search started.
A 41-foot Coast Guard utility boat from Tybee Island, Ga., and two HH-65 Dolphin Coast Guard helicopters from Savannah, Ga., searched a 175-square-mile area Friday.
Seas have been running four to six feet for several days with winds up to 30 miles per hour, the Coast Guard reported.
``It has not been the greatest weather,'' Carr said. MEMO: The Associated Press contributed to this report. ILLUSTRATION: Staff map
Area Shown: Hilton Head
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT BOAT U.S. COAST GUARD FATALITY by CNB