Laguna Beach

Rescuers Call Off Search for Missing Boater Off Dana Point

Thuan Hieu Dang was found barely afloat and exhausted, but the search for Tan Hoang Vu continues.

Rescuers on Wednesday called off a search for a man who was tossed off a boat the day before in Dana Point during a fishing trip with a friend who was rescued Tuesday.
 
Thirty-nine-year-old Thuan Hieu Dang of Garden Grove was pulled from the water hours after he and Tan Hoang Vu, 43, were thrown overboard, Orange County Sheriff's Department officials said. 
 
The search for the men started when the Sheriff's Harbor Patrol received a call of a powerboat travelling in tight circles unmanned. 
 
Officials from the Coast Guard deployed a search and rescue team who were able to locate Dang in the water about a mile off the coast of Monarch Beach, barely afloat and exhausted.
 
Dang initially declined medical treatment, but after feeling sick, he was transported to Mission Hospital in Laguna Beach and was later released, authorities said. 
 
After a day of searching, rescuers were unable to locate Vu, who is from Riverside, and suspended their efforts at 8 p.m. They resumed looking for him Wednesday morning. 
 
Harbor Patrol deputies examined the vessel the men were on and said their  initial investigation showed there may have been a mechanical failure that caused the boat  to quickly turn and caused the pair to fall overboard.
 
Vu is described as an Asian man standing at about 6 feet tall and weighing about 250 pounds. He was last seen wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.
 
Anyone with information is asked to call the Orange County Sheriff's Department's Harbor Patrol Office at 949-723-1002 or 714-647-7000.
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