Alabama boater rescued off Horn Island
Published: October 6, 2004
A 61-year-old Alabama man stranded in a 17-foot boat in the Gulf of Mexico, about 25 miles west of Horn Island, was safely rescued Wednesday by a Coast Guard crew.
John Kirkpatrick of Huntsville, Ala., was trying to reach the island when he was spotted about 11:50 a.m. by an HH-65 Dolphin rescue helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans, a Coast Guard statement said.
Kirkpatrick was taken to Coast Guard Station Gulfport, Miss., where he was released in good condition.
A Coast Guard jet from Mobile and a patrol boat from Gulfport assisted in Wednesday’s search.
It was a second rescue involving Kirkpatrick, who was reported overdue at about 7 p.m. Tuesday by friends who expected him to arrive at Horn Island after spending the night on Deer Island.
On Monday, Kirkpatrick used a cell phone to call the Coast Guard. He and a child followed a group of about 35 passengers who departed Ocean Springs, Miss., for Horn Island and the child needed medication.
The Coast Guard responded and took the child to Horn Island, where his medication was located.
But Kirkpatrick’s cell phone battery died a short time later and he had no other means to contact the Coast Guard when he later became stranded.
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