Search suspended for young girl distress caller

The Coast Guard suspended its search this morning for the source of a radio call it received last night from a young girl who said someone was with her and "not waking up."

The girl, who identified herself only as "Kelsey" stopped transmitting before the Coast Guard could gather any more information.

She said she was 6 years old and that someone with her, possibly named "Kelly" was "in the water" and "not waking up," according to the call.

A helicopter and boat searched South Puget Sound all night and at midnight and 1:30 a.m. there were several reports of green flares in the waters near Steilacoom and Fox Island.

Because those flares may have been in the same area as the radio transmission, the Coast Guard sent an airplane to search this morning, said Jennifer Whitcomb, with Coast Guard search and rescue operations. She said the Coast Guard doesn't normally conduct searches after green flares are seen, but decided to today because they were in the same area as the radio transmission.

The plane searched until about 8:30 this morning.

The Coast Guard is hoping for another radio call.

"We tried to get her to talk, but she stopped talking to us," Whitcomb said, adding that it's not even clear that the girl was in Puget Sound or on a boat. She could have been broadcasting from a radio on land, she said.

Whitcomb said the transmission came in on channel 16, the Coast Guard emergency distress frequency. The transmission was picked up on radio towers in southern Puget Sound, near Carr Inlet.

Anyone who heard this little girl on the radio, or who can provide additional information, is asked to contact Coast Guard Sector Seattle at 206-217-6001.

Susan Gilmore: 206-464-2054 or sgilmore@seattletimes.com