After locating a kayak belonging to missing Sitka man, 40-year-old Jesse Mills, but no other sign of him, the U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search for him that has been on-going since he was reported missing on Thursday morning.

According to the Coast Guard, Mill’s kayak was found on Kaniana Island approximately four miles from Sitka. Ground search teams, accompanied by search dogs turned up no sign of Mills after a thorough search of the area.  A first light aerial search by an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter could not find any sign as well.

After calling off the search on Saturday, a statement was released. “The decision to suspend a search is never an easy one to make and is done with great care and deliberation,” said Lt. Stacey Tate, a search and rescue mission coordinator at Sector Juneau. “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the missing man.”

Mills had left his Sitka residence on Wednesday night. When his wife discovered that he and his kayak were missing, and he had not returned on Thursday morning, she reported his missing status to the Coast Guard and sea, ground and air assets were launched to search for Mills.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

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