United Cajun Navy arrives to search for missing Havre de Grace boater

A volunteer search group arrived at the Susquehanna River Wednesday morning with boats, sonar equipment, drones, and ground teams to help find 18-year-old Mark Everett Coates III, who has been missing for a week.

What’s happening: Coates has been missing since November 4, when he was last seen near the Hatem Memorial Bridge on the Susquehanna River between Havre de Grace and Perryville. The United Cajun Navy, a volunteer search and rescue organization, deployed to the area Wednesday — their first day on scene.

Josh Gill, the group’s incident commander, said the response from volunteers was strong. “We reached out for volunteers and we had just a huge response,” Gill said. The group assembled a full range of search resources. “Boats, sonar, drones, boots on the ground, everything,” he said.

The plan: The group identified seven search sectors across the river, stretching from the area where Coates’ boat was recovered near the Hatem Bridge south toward the Amtrak rail bridge. The highest-priority zone is the water immediately surrounding where the boat was found. Other priority areas include the bridge piers, Garrett Island, and the river channel toward the I-95 bridge.

Gill said the goal is simple. “It’s all about covering as much ground as possible, as thorough as possible as well, and then, you know, saying prayers that we can find this young man today,” he said.

What we know: The boat Coates was in has been recovered, and two sonar contacts have been reported in the search area. The exact coordinates of both had not yet been confirmed and shared with the United Cajun Navy as of Wednesday morning. The group must receive authorization from Maryland Natural Resources Police before deploying to each search sector.

Weather: Conditions Wednesday are expected to be mild, with a high near 66 degrees and calm winds shifting south around 5 mph. Rain is possible Thursday, with about a 50% chance and a high near 64 degrees.

Why they are here: The United Cajun Navy was called in by the family earlier this week.