ELLSWORTH — After a 14-hour search, a kayaker who had been reported missing on Thursday night, was found near Deer Isle by the Coast Guard.
The kayaker, Matt Grabowski, 30, was on a several-day kayaking and camping trip around Isle au Haut when he missed a scheduled check-in with his friend’s father. The Coast Guard and Maine Marine Patrol were called at 11 p.m. and immediately began a search for Grabowski with a helicopter, airplane and search boats.
It was the helicopter crew that located Grabowski kayaking between Stinson Neck and Sheep Island at 1:15 p.m. Friday. Grabowski told his rescuers that his cellphone had died and he had not energized his VHF radio, according to a press release from the U.S. Coast Guard.
The kayaker, who the Coast Guard believes is from Fitchburg, Mass., had left Stonington on Tuesday and was scheduled to return on Friday.
He checked in at 6 p.m. Wednesday from Burnt Island and was not heard from again until Friday afternoon, though he had planned to check in every day.
Search crews from the Coast Guard stations in Southwest Harbor, Maine and Cape Cod, Mass., as well as Maine Marine Patrol participated in the search. Coast Guard Lt. Scott McCann said there were gale force winds on Thursday night, which made the search area larger for rescuers.
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