Staithes RNLI search for couple and three dogs
Staithes and Runswick RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew were called at 5:15pm on Saturday 10 November after reports that an elderly couple with three dogs were cut off by the tide at Runswick Bay.
The charity’s lifeboat, Sheila & Dennis Tongue III, arrived at Runswick Bay and the lifeboat crew began searching the Bay. With no sign of the couple Coastguard teams from Staithes and Whitby joined in the search along the cliff tops and footpaths nearby.
With concern for the safety of the couple growing the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter arrived on scene at 6:30pm and began searching using their infra-red camera. Shortly after the couple were reported to have made it to the safety of a game keeper’s cottage nearby and they informed police that they were safe. The lifeboat returned to Staithes at 7pm.
RNLI volunteer Lee Jackson, said: ‘With such good information from the first informant we were extremely concerned when we couldn’t find the couple. We all realised they may have made their way into the woods behind the beach hence the Rescue Helicopter joined the search with the infra-red camera. If visiting the coast please check the times of the tide.’
RNLI media contacts
For more information please contact Lee Jackson at Staithes RNLI on: 01947 840001.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
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