Man vanishes after renting boat to visit shipwreck off Texas coast, officials say

UPDATE: After nearly two days, the Coast Guard has stopped searching for the man who vanished after renting a boat, according to a news release. The search was suspended at about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 29.

The boater was identified as Jeffrey Anderson, a 51-year-old from Denton, Texas.

“Suspending a search without a positive conclusion is always a difficult call to make,” Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey Schwind, search and rescue mission coordinator with Sector Houston-Galveston, said in the release. “If anyone has any new information about Mr. Anderson’s whereabouts, please contact us.”

The original article continues below.

A 51-year-old man vanished after renting a boat to visit a shipwreck off of the Texas coast, authorities said.

The owner of a boating rental service at Galveston Yacht Marina called command center watchstanders with Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 27, according to a news release.

The owner reported the renter left with a boat at 2:30 p.m. to visit SS Selma and never returned, officials said. The man planned to come back before sunset.

The boater was last seen in a 22-foot center console boat with a blue bimini top, according to the release. Authorities are unsure if he was wearing a life jacket.

Boat and helicopter crews joined the search for the missing man, and an “urgent marine information broadcast” was issued, officials said.

Anyone with additional information is asked to call Sector Houston-Galveston at 281-464-4851.

“The concrete-made oil tanker SS Selma hit a jetty in Mexico tearing a 60-foot hole in its hull,” according to Houston Public Media. “It was brought to Galveston for repair, but when those efforts failed the craft was intentionally sunk off the eastern shore of Pelican Island near Galveston.”

This story was originally published November 28, 2022 at 1:22 PM with the headline "Man vanishes after renting boat to visit shipwreck off Texas coast, officials say."