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Two boaters rescued off coast of Wading River after running out of fuel

Two boaters were rescued off the coast of Wading River in the wee hours of Monday morning after their vessel ran out of fuel, according to the Coast Guard Sector Long Island.

Gary P. McMullan, 64, and his wife Kathryn M. McMullan, 58, of Rockville Centre were found by the United States Coast Guard one mile off of Herod Point at 3:36 a.m., according to the Riverhead Police Department.

A call came in to the Coast Guard command center at 10:55 p.m. about two adults who’d gone out on a 12-foot inflatable boat at 4 p.m. and not returned, despite not usually going out very far for such a long period of time, family members said.

The caller, the brother of one of the men, said the couple hadn’t taken their cell phones with them and had no radio onboard the vessel, the Coast Guard said.

According to the Coast Guard, a search plan was formulated based on their last known position — a half nautical mile north of the beachfront home they’d set off from.

Riverhead Town Police said the pair had been reported missing at 10:22 p.m. after failing to return to the area of Creek Road in Wading River.

Involved in the search of the Long Island Sound were Southold Town Police, Riverhead Police Department’s dive team, Suffolk Marine and Air, Wading River and Rocky Point Fire Departments, Coast Guard Stations Eatons Neck and New London, and Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod.

At first, the searches yielded no results, but after 3:09 a.m., as Air Station Coast Guard began their second search, they located the vessel matching the description with two persons on board waving their hands, the USCG said.

Station Eatons Neck arrived on scene and took the mariners and their small vessel onboard, contacted their family members, and took them to a town dock in Mount Sinai.

They had no health or medical concerns, the USCG said.

“I would tell the general public to have a thought-out float plan, stick to it, let someone know what the plan is, and be prepared for what could happen,” said Boatswains Mate 2nd Class Thomas Watson, Coast Guard Station Eatons Neck. “The boating public should have a working radio or at a minimum a charged cell phone on board. In an emergency, you could use it to signal someone for help, find your location, and call someone for assistance. Safety equipment is very effective when used properly and is affordable. This would include lifejackets, sound-producing devices, fire extinguishers and a signaling device.”