THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 19, 1997 TAG: 9701190110
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: COROLLA LENGTH: 39 lines
For the third consecutive day, bad weather has forced a delay in the weeklong search for a missing 51-year-old Chesapeake man.
Philip Boedker Sr. has been missing and presumed dead since Jan. 12, after the boat he was in was swamped during a duck-hunting trip in the near-freezing waters of Currituck Sound. Three others, including two children, are known to have died.
Rain and high winds forced cancellation of search efforts Thursday. Wind and sub-freezing temperatures forced cancellation Friday. That same weather pattern kept rescue crews from combing the waters Saturday.
Continued frigid conditions also may hinder any recovery efforts today, Currituck County spokesman John Mulvey said late Saturday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Currituck County Emergency Services Director Donnie Beacham said a team of divers was ready to join other recovery teams Saturday, but weather again dashed any rescue efforts.
``Right now, because of high winds and a lot of ice, we don't have any teams out searching,'' Beacham said.
``We still have North Carolina Search and Rescue, as well as a team of six divers from Virginia Beach Search and Rescue, on standby. And we've pretty much got all of the other agencies who have been working with us on standby as well.''
Some 1,500 feet of ice had formed on Currituck Sound, and in Whalehead Bay, keeping boats from the North Carolina Marine Patrol and other agencies out of the water. The cold temperatures also prohibited the use of search dogs.
``Our concern is safety first,'' Beacham said. ``We're not going to do anything that will endanger the people working here. We're just on hold, waiting for a break in the weather.''
Despite weather-related delays, Beacham said crews would continue to work until Boedker, a painter at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, is found.
``We hope we can get out and do something tomorrow,'' Beacham said. ``But if it's Monday, Tuesday, whatever, we'll be out as long as it takes.''