Search called off for kayaking dad, child in Ohio

[April 08, 2013]  SANDUSKY, Ohio (AP) -- Authorities along Lake Erie in Ohio say they have suspended the search for a father and his 12-year-old daughter who were last seen in their kayaks on Sandusky Bay.

The Erie County Sheriff's office said two empty kayaks were found floating Sunday morning in the bay, but there was no sign of the 30-year-old man and his daughter.

The pair did not have life jackets when they set out on the water early Saturday evening. The sheriff's office said the two who were missing are Jonathan Francis, of Sandusky, and his daughter Viola Francis. Francis' girlfriend tells the Toldeo Blade that the weather was mild when they left to kayak.

The U.S. Coast Guard and local authorities searched the water with boats and a helicopter while family and friends looked along the shoreline. The search was called off Sunday night.

[Associated Press]

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