OREGON INLET, N.C. (WAVY) – A missing vessel and crew who had gone missing after leaving Oregon Inlet, N.C. were found Tuesday afternoon about 214 miles east of Delaware.

The Coast Guard, with help from the tanker vessel Silver Muna, found the sailing vessel Atrevida II, along with Kevin Hyde, 65, and Joe DiTomasso, 76, who were last in contact with friends and family Dec. 3 when they left Oregon Inlet. The two had been aboard Atrevida II going from Cape May, N.J. to Marathon, Fla.

The Atrevida II did not have fuel or power, which made their radios and navigation equipment inoperable. The two men were able to get the Silver Muna’s attention by waving their arms and a flag.

Hyde, DiTomasso and a pet dog were brought onto the Silver Muna at 4:18 p.m. and were evaluated by the vessel’s medical staff, with no immediate concerns. The two men will stay on the Silver Muna as it heads to its next port of call in New York City, where they will be transferred to a Coast Guard vessel for further evaluation and reunite with family and friends.

The Coast Guard’s Fifth District command center received word Sunday that the two men were overdue, and it began urgent marine information broadcasts and direct communication with commercial vessels in the area to try and find the two men and their vessel.

The Coast Guard said it launched several aircraft and cutters to find the Atrevida II, and the Navy’s Second Fleet and commercial and recreational vessel traffic within the search helped, searching a combined 21,164 square miles of water from northern Florida to waters east of New Jersey.

“This is an excellent example of the maritime community’s combined efforts to ensure safety of life at sea,” said Cmdr. Daniel Schrader, spokesperson for Coast Guard Atlantic Area, in a statement. “We are overjoyed with the outcome of the case and look forward to reuniting Mr. Hyde and Mr. DiTomasso with their family and friends. We also want to highlight the importance of proper safety equipment and preparedness when going to sea. Having an emergency position indicating radio beacon, or ‘EPIRB’, allows mariners to immediately make contact with first responders in an emergency.”

The following were involved in the search and rescue efforts:

• Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City HC-130 Hercules airplane and MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews
• A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater HC-130 Hercules airplane crew
• A Coast Guard Air Station Miami HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane crew
• A Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew
• USCGC Oak (WLB 211), homeported in Newport, Rhode Island
• USCGC Richard Snyder (WPC 1121), homeported in Atlantic City, North Carolina
• USS San Jacinto (CG 56), homeported in Norfolk, Virginia
• Multiple commercial and recreational vessels along the U.S. eastern seaboard

Previously:

The U.S. Coast Guard Mid-Atlantic is looking for an overdue 30-foot Catalina sailboat – and the two people on it – that was last seen Dec. 3 leaving Oregon Inlet, N.C. on its way to Jupiter, Fla.

Two people – Kevin Hyde, 64, and Joe DiTommasso, 76, were on board the sailboat, which has a bluish-purple hull with a white superstructure and white sails.

The Coast Guard is working to find the sailing vessel, named the “Atrevida II” (NJ 7033HN), which had been traveling from Cape May, N.J. to Marathon, Fla.

The vessel may have stopped in Morehead City, N.C., but the Coast Guard said this is not confirmed.

Anyone with information regarding the missing boaters or the vessel can contact the Coast Guard Atlantic Area Command Center at 757-398-6700.