NORTH CAROLINA, USA — The U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies are searching for two men after the helicopter they were in reportedly crashed near the Albemarle Sound last night.
The Coast Guard Sector North Carolina command center was notified by one of the missing men's friends that contact with the Robinson R44 helicopter was lost around 6:40 p.m. Monday.
The helicopter left Mecklenburg Brunswick Regional Airport with a planned landing at Dare County Regional Airport in the evening, according to a Coast Guard news release.
It was after 10 a.m. Tuesday when someone found a backpack with personal belongings about 3.5 miles south of the mouth of Alligator River.
About an hour later, a Coast Guard aircrew in an MH-60 Jayhawk found helicopter debris about 9 miles north of the Alligator River Bridge. That's in the Albemarle Sound area.
The Coast Guard also has a HC-130 Hercules aircrew in the air searching for the two men.
Crews from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the Tyrell County Sheriff’s Department and the North Carolina Marine Patrol are helping with the search.