Search suspended for SC man missing in Ala. surf

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. (AP) — Authorities say they have suspended a five-day-old search for a South Carolina man who disappeared last weekend off Alabama’s Orange Beach in rough waters churned up by a tropical storm.

The Orange Beach safety director, Melvin Shephard, told The Associated Press that the search for 32-year-old Eric Pye of Summerville, S.C., had been called off as of Thursday evening. He said dozens of searchers using boats and sonar had failed to locate him.

Shepard says accounts indicate Pye was wading near the beach’s edge Sunday when the backwash of a large wave dragged him into the Gulf of Mexico. Emerging Tropical Storm Debby was churning up 8- to 10-foot waves there at the time, he added.

The storm later trekked over north Florida, flooding several areas before being downgraded.