Elderly man rescued near Hawaii after nearly 2 weeks lost at sea

USPA News - An elderly man, who was presumed to have died nearly two weeks ago after his small boat began taking on water near the Hawaiian islands, was rescued on Tuesday after managing to broadcast another mayday call, officials said, more than a week after a rescue operation had ended. The search for the man was launched on the morning of November 27 after the U.S. Coast Guard received a mayday call over VHF radio.

During the call, the then-unidentified man reported that his small boat was taking on water about 46 miles (74 kilometers) west of Kailua, which is located on the island of Hawaii. "This is a mayday, mayday, mayday. I`m in the middle of Alenuihaha Channel. Uh, small boat, in danger of sinking. ... If anybody picks this up, give me a relay. This is a mayday, mayday," the man said in the mayday call, which prompted an extensive search involving ships and aircraft. Authorities later identified the missing man as 67-year-old Ron Ingraham after a friend called the U.S. Coast Guard and said he had last heard from Ingraham on November 25, two days before the mayday call. The friend reported that Ingraham had departed the island of Molokai aboard his 25-foot (7.6-meter) sailing vessel Malia. Despite extensive search efforts covering approximately 12,000 square miles (31,080 square kilometers), rescuers found no trace of Ingraham or his vessel, causing them to suspend the search on December 1. "We have exhausted all available resources in our efforts to locate Mr. Ingraham," Capt. Shannon Gilreath said at the time. But on Tuesday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard received another mayday call when the missing sailing vessel was about 64 miles (103 kilometers) south of Honolulu. "Got a mayday here. Mayday. This is the Malia. Anybody picking this up?", Ingraham said, after which the U.S. Navy ship USS Paul Hamilton responded to the scene. The U.S. Navy vessel located the sailing vessel about half an hour later. Ingraham was described as being weak, hungry and dehydrated, but otherwise uninjured after nearly two weeks lost at sea. The Navy crew provided Ingraham with food and water, after which he was transferred to the Coast Guard Cutter Kiska to be taken to Molokai.