Authorities Search Ocean After Person Reported Floating in Water

Crews from a variety of local agencies searched the waters off North Hampton State Beach for three hours Friday evening after a beachgoer reported seeing "somebody in a black T-shirt floating out in the water" about "100 to 200 yards" off the shore, according to North Hampton Fire Lt. Mike Tully.

The search began around 5:55 p.m. It was called off at 8:55 p.m., though, after police, fire, U.S. Coast Guard and Marine Patrol crews didn't find anyone in the water and couldn't verify that anyone was missing from the beach, said Tully.

Tully said police also couldn't find anyone else who saw a body in the water in the area of the alleged sighting just south of the newly reconstructed bathhouse.

Possible drownings prompt a "better safe than sorry" approach, though, according to Tully, which is why authorities continued to search the area long after police finished speaking with visitors on the busy beach.

"It was probably some type of debris in the water or some seaweed, something that could've been mistaken for someone in the water," said Tully.

Tully said the search will resume if authorities determine the need to do so after receiving "some type of [missing person or other] report in the evening hours" or morning.

Hampton and North Hampton police assisted during the search, as did the Hampton Fire Department and their marine rescue team.