Missing H.B. boater found at San Diego hospital

A two-day search for a Huntington Beach boater in San Diego’s Mission Bay ended this week after a hospital nurse saw news reports about the missing man and realized he was a patient.

San Diego lifeguards and the U.S. Coast Guard began looking for Garrett Ferguson, 36, on Tuesday morning after an unoccupied dinghy was found about a half-mile west of the Mission Bay channel jetty. The 9-foot inflatable boat held swim fins, a diving buoy, clothes and Ferguson’s ID card.

Coast Guard crews were searching for Ferguson when a nurse at Scripps Mercy Hospital called San Diego police about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, said Petty Officer Robert Simpson, a spokesman for the Coast Guard. Police officers went to the hospital and helped the Coast Guard verify that the patient was Ferguson.

Soon after, the search was called off and Ferguson’s family was notified.

Simpson did not have details about Ferguson’s health, except that he was not in critical condition.