Sailor Missing for 66 Days Rescued by Coast Guard in Atlantic
The family of Louis Jordan reported him and his ship missing on Jan. 29.
— -- A sailor who was reported missing for more than two months was discovered by the U.S. Coast Guard today 200 miles off the coast of North Carolina, authorities said.
The family of Louis Jordan, 37, reported on Jan. 29 to the Coast Guard that he and his ship "Angel" were missing. In audio released by the Coast Guard, Jordan's father told his son that they thought he was dead.
"Oh man, nice to hear your voice," said his father, Frank Jordan. "People've been praying for you."
The Coast Guard said today it conducted a "medevac" of Jordan via Jayhawk helicopter from a ship that rescued him. A German-flagged ship Houston Express reported to the Coast Guard in Portsmouth that it spotted a man on a vessel around 1:30 p.m. local time, about 200 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, authorities said. The ship took him aboard, the Coast Guard said.
His father also thanked the captain of the Houston Express for spotting his son.
"You're a good man," he said. "I'm grateful for the system that we have."
Coast Guard Lt. Krystyn Pecora said Jordan's family was driving to Norfolk to see their son.
Pecora, who said the details about how he went missing are to be determined, said there was "no reason to question what happened and we'll get more information when they can speak to him."
The helicopter left Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, at about 3:40 p.m., the Coast Guard said, and met the Houston Express before transporting him to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk. He was being treated for a shoulder injury and was being checked for other injuries, the Coast Guard said.