Missing Boaters, Dog Found Safe on Sailboat

Map of search area for two missing boaters and their dog reported missing on Oct. 25. The boaters and dogs were found on Oct. 28, 2019. (USCG 1st District Northeast)

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has found two missing boaters and their dog on Monday on their sailboat in Cape Henry, Virginia.

The missing boaters—Ryan Hollis and Joshua Kane Cairone—and their French bulldog Louis were reported missing on Oct. 25 after having set off from Portsmouth in Rhode Island on Oct. 23. They were heading toward Norfolk, Virginia.

Both men were not aware they were being searched for when they were found some 100 nautical miles offshore.

The USCG searched more than 30,000 nautical miles along the Eastern Seaboard before finding the men.

Hollis was expected to make a stop in Norfolk on Oct. 25 to check in with his girlfriend back in Rhode Island, but when he didn’t make it, she reported him missing, according to The Associated Press.

At the time, USCG announced in a Twitter post: “#BreakingNews @USCGNortheast is searching for 40-year-old Ryan Hollis who left Jamestown, #RhodeIsland Oct. 23 for #Norfolk, VA on his 43-ft Benneteau sailing boat Carol K. His ultimate destination is #Miami. Call the #USCG command center at 617-223-8555 #SAR.”

The search started just for the 40-year-old Hollis until USCG learned later on Sunday that Cairone and Louis were also on board. A Twitter update was issued, saying: “#UPDATE @USCGNortheast confirms Joshua Kane Cairone and Louis, the Frenchie, are also missing. This post shows them 12 NM south of #Newport, RI. Urgent marine bulletins are being broadcasted along the Eastern Seaboard, air crews are up searching. #SAR.”

Hollis’s mother, Lisa Disaia said she was “overwhelmed” with emotion upon knowing that her son was safe, reported WPRI. She told the station that her son, a veteran who served two tours in Afghanistan, lives on the sailboat and was relocating for a job in Miami, Florida.

“I always knew he would be safe out there, but as a parent, you worry,” Disaia told WPRI. “The more they searched and the more that they didn’t find—it’s just nerve-wracking.”

The USCG said the trio is now heading toward Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.