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The Coast Guard and partner agencies are searching for two people from a reported downed helicopter in the vicinity of the Albemarle Sound, according to a press release issued Tuesday afternoon by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina command center were notified by a concerned friend that lost communication with the two people aboard a Robinson R44 helicopter at 6:40 p.m. on Monday. Watchstanders launched air and surface assets to search the Albemarle Sound where the aircraft was last observed, according to the release.

“The two men departed from Mecklenburg Brunswick Regional Airport and planned to land at the Dare County Regional Airport the same evening,” stated the release.

At 10:46 a.m. on Tuesday, a good Samaritan recovered a backpack and personal belongings near the mouth of the Alligator River.

At 11:27 a.m. on Tuesday, a MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew discovered helicopter debris in the water in the vicinity of the Alligator River Bridge in the Albemarle Sound.

Involved in the search are a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, a 29-foot Response Boat-Small boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina Marine Patrol, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission and the Tyrell County Sheriff’s Department.

UPDATE:

Bodies of two missing men from reported helicopter crash recovered

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