HONOLULU (AP) — U.S. Coast Guard officials say they suspended their search Saturday for a Hawaii big-wave surfer who went missing on Oahu’s North Shore earlier this week.
Alec “Ace Cool” Cooke, 59, was last seen Tuesday before he went surfing during a 20- to 25-foot swell near Waimea Bay. His girlfriend reported him missing Wednesday after he didn’t return to his Waialua home.
Cmdr. Arex Avanni, deputy commanding officer at Coast Guard Sector Honolulu, says in a statement issued Saturday night: “As with any missing persons search we saturated the area in an attempt to locate Mr. Cooke, but pending further developments, we have decided to suspend the active search.”
The Coast Guard says it used airplanes, helicopters and jet skis to search about 8,930 square miles of the Pacific Ocean for Cooke.