This past weekend, two men were reported missing at sea after leaving Oregon Inlet, North Carolina on their boat, the Atrevida II. Kevin Hyde, 64, and Joe DiTommasso, 76 were last seen on December 3rd as they left for their journey from Cape May, New Jersey to Marathon, Florida. As the news spread of the missing men and their dog on board their sailboat, a community of concerned individuals soon formed to help locate them.
The U.S. Coast Guard quickly began searching for these sailors and sent out an urgent call for assistance over the weekend. Local companies such as Tow Boat US and Sea Tow volunteered their services in helping to search for the missing sailors. Although there was no response from either man’s cell phone or VHF radio, this did not stop people from trying to locate them using other methods like social media outreach and searching online databases to find any information that would lead them to Kevin Hyde and Joe DiTommasso’s location.
Volunteer pilots also joined in on the search effort by taking off from Cape May Airport with hopes of finding some clue as to where these two men may be located. After several days of searching with no results, many people began losing hope that they would ever be found alive. Luckily though, on Tuesday afternoon a tanker vessel named Silver Muna located Hyde and Ditomasso approximately 214 miles east of Delaware’s shoreline. They were both unharmed but exhausted from being lost at sea for so long.
This incredible story serves as an example of how a community can come together during times of need and that even in situations where all hope seems lost, anything is possible if we come together and remain positive throughout our struggles.
