On a summer day in August 2017, 47-year-old Steve Howard Chaney and his friend, Richard David Hambrick, embarked on a fishing trip off the coast of Oak Island, North Carolina. The two men, both from Gaston County, set out from the South Harbor Boat Ramp around 11:30 a.m. on Sunday, August 27th, in a 22-foot center console Trophy boat. They were expected to return by nightfall, but as the hours passed with no sign of them, concern began to grow.
When they failed to come back as planned, the wife of one of the men alerted the authorities, officially reporting them missing and triggering a large-scale search and rescue operation.
The United States Coast Guard, along with the Navy and other partner agencies, immediately launched an extensive search for the two missing anglers. The search efforts were hampered by an approaching tropical system that brought rough seas and strong winds to the area. Crews in boats, a helicopter, and a C-130 Hercules airplane scoured the waters off the North Carolina coast. A few days later, search crews found the overdue boater's vessel. The boat was discovered approximately 15 miles east of Murrells Inlet, South Carolina, with no one on board. The discovery of the empty boat intensified the search for Chaney and Hambrick, with efforts focusing on the waters from Charleston to Myrtle Beach.
Despite the exhaustive search by air and sea, neither Steve Chaney nor David Hambrick were ever located. The Coast Guard and other agencies covered a vast area of the Atlantic, but tragically, no trace of the two men was found. The community, deeply concerned for the missing fishermen, held out hope for their safe return, with friends even raising money to fund private boaters to join the search. The case remains a painful mystery for the families and friends of Steve Chaney and Richard Hambrick. The discovery of their empty boat miles from where they launched offers a haunting final clue in a story without a resolution, leaving only questions about what happened on the water that day. The official investigation was handled by the Oak Island Police Department, and the men are still considered missing.Last Seen: Aug 27, 2017
