Search For Missing Starkville Kayaker Suspended

GULF SHORES, Ala. (AP) – The search is ending for a Mississippi man who’s been missing since he went fishing in a kayak along the Alabama coast on Saturday.

WKRG-TV (http://bit.ly/1yfsK8H ) reports the hunt is being called off after the U.S. Coast Guard covered more than 2,100 square miles and didn’t locate 24-year-old John Switzer of Starkville, Mississippi.

Gulf Shores police say the Coast Guard found what’s believed to be the kayak used by Switzer on Monday. The small boat was partially submerged when it was located in the Gulf between Dauphin Island and Petit Bois Island.

Police say Switzer hasn’t been heard from since he told relatives he was kayak fishing on Saturday.

The man was vacationing in Gulf Shores at the time. He posted photos from the water to social media before disappearing.