Hope Island Boatie Found Dead After Calls for Help on Gold Coast
Police found the body of a 55-year-old man at 8:45am on Monday, November 9, after a major air and sea search off Hope Island on
Police found the body of a 55-year-old man at 8:45am on Monday, November 9, after a major air and sea search off Hope Island on Queensland's Gold Coast. He had been reported missing the previous evening after someone heard him shouting for help on the water.
Officers located him at the mouth of Saltwater Creek. Emergency services had been called to the Boykambil Esplanade Boat Ramp at Hope Island at about 5pm on Sunday.
What happened on the water
The man lived on a sailboat in the Broadwater, the sheltered waterway behind the Gold Coast. Police said his small aluminum dinghy, known in Australia as a tinnie, had broken down. He was trying to paddle it back to his sailboat when he disappeared.
"Somehow he became separated from his boat and he's obviously ended up in the water," Acting Inspector Peter Venz said. He added: "The circumstances around that we don't know."
Searchers found the empty tinnie that night at nearby Coombabah Creek.
What is known about the man
Venz said the man was reported to be a strong swimmer and had no known medical conditions. Earlier in the day, however, he had badly cut his foot on barnacles.
Police have not released his name.
The search effort
Police kept searching into the early hours of Monday and resumed at first light. Marine Rescue Queensland crews joined the effort, along with the Polair police aircraft and sonar equipment.
The search ended when officers found the man's body that morning. The circumstances of how he ended up in the water remain unexplained, and Venz said police do not know what led to his separation from the boat.
