Authorities Search for 4 Boaters Missing Off New Jersey Coast

MIDDLETOWN, N.J. -- The Coast Guard says it hasn't heard from four people aboard a sailboat off the New Jersey coast since they radioed that it was nearly submerged.

Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe says those aboard the 33-foot Courtney Lynn said they were abandoning the vessel and getting into a smaller boat. The crew said they didn't have a hand-held radio or flares.

There's been no sign of the boat or debris.

The Coast Guard launched a search after the sailboat radioed it was taking on water at 3:15 a.m. Tuesday.

Rowe says the vessel reported it was a mile west of the Naval Weapons Station Earle pier in Middletown. Rowe says the operator then said the sailboat was a mile east of that location.