Family of boater missing off the Outer Banks still hopes for clues

The family of a boater with terminal cancer who went missing off the Outer Banks coast in late November is still searching for clues.

Michael Bye, 50, was determined to boat solo from his home in New York to Florida in his 35-foot recreational vessel the H.M.S. Me II, said his daughter Sydney Kendall Hein.

Bye was reported missing Nov. 21 when he failed to make contact with family at an appointed time, and didn’t show to meet a friend in Belhaven. Coast Guard search-and-rescue coordinators found his last position via cellphone in the vicinity of Kill Devil Hills.

Pictured here is the H.M.S Me II, a 35-foot recreational vessel, reported operated by Michael Bye, currently missing off the coast of North Carolina. (U.S. Coast Guard photo.)

The Coast Guard searched approximately 10,000 square miles, but failed to find any signs of Bye or his vessel. The search was called off Nov. 25.

Hein said her father was a U.S. Navy veteran and an accomplished boater. He had beaten skin and throat cancer, but was diagnosed with terminal cancer over the summer as it had spread to his lymph nodes.

“Unfortunately with his condition I don’t feel confident in his ability to keep himself alive in the elements,” Hein said.

Anyone with additional information should contact the Coast Guard D5 command center on VHF-FM channel 16 or at 757-398-6390.

This story originally appeared on OBXToday.com. Read More local stories here.