RNLI helps in search for missing girl

At around 3.40pm on Sunday, the RNLI received a call from the UK Coastguard to assist the RNLI Lifeguards, UK Coastguard Rescue Team and the police in the search for an eight-year-old girl, who had been reported missing and had been last seen heading towards the sea next to East Beach Café.

At 3.50pm, the stations Lifeboat Operations Manager requested that both lifeboats and volunteer crews were launched, and they began the search from the harbour entrance along the shore to five hundred yards east of the café.

During the search it was advised that the girl had been found safe and well near the café. Both lifeboats were stood down at 4.10pm and returned to the station.

From Saturday to Tuesday, both of Littlehampton’s lifeboats were launched five times, including the search for the missing girl, to assist in the rescue and retrieval of a broken-down yacht and reports of distress flares being sighted.

At around 11.50pm on Saturday, the RNLI rescued a broken-down yacht, which had three adults and a dog on board. The lifeboat found it five miles out to sea and towed it back to the harbour.

The third call was received at around 00.15am on Monday following a call from the UK Coastguard that there had been multiple reports of a red flare being sighted off shore. Both of the Littlehampton RNLI’s lifeboats were launched and searching an area from Littlehampton Harbour to Goring, but stood down at 3.45am after nothing was found.