07.27.2026
« Return to News#3 — Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City: A Rescue to Remember
By Donnie Brzuska, Coast Guard Mutual Assistance
Some Coast Guard search and rescue cases are remembered for the weather. Others for the distance offshore.
This one is remembered for a frantic dog and an exceptionally calm cat.
On Dec. 30, 2025, two mariners found themselves aboard a disabled 40-foot sailing catamaran approximately 65 miles southeast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. With sea conditions deteriorating and no safe way to continue, they activated their Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon, or EPIRB. Within minutes, Coast Guard watchstanders had a distress signal, a position and an MH-60 Jayhawk crew launching from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City.
For the aircrew, the rescue had already begun.
A Signal in the Atlantic
Search and rescue often begins with uncertainty. A distress call may provide little more than a last known position, leaving crews to search miles of open ocean before ever spotting a vessel.
This case was different.
The EPIRB transmitted the sailboat’s location before the helicopter ever lifted off, allowing the crew to fly directly to the scene.
“It’s very key to safety,” Aviation Survival Technician 2nd Class James Butz said afterward.
Every minute spent flying directly to a distress position is a minute gained for the rescue itself.
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Sixty-Five Miles Offshore
Sixty-Five Miles Offshore
More than 65 miles offshore, the Jayhawk settled into a steady hover above the disabled sailboat.
The rescue swimmer entered the Atlantic. From the cabin door, the flight mechanic managed the hoist while the pilots held the aircraft steady over the vessel below. Every call, every movement and every decision followed a sequence the crew had practiced countless times.
From a distance, the rescue looked almost effortless.
Inside the aircraft, everyone knew how quickly conditions offshore could change.
The rescue unfolded in two hoists.
The Unexpected Passengers
The first hoist brought one of the mariners aboard, along with one of the rescue’s most unexpected passengers.
Secured inside a dry bag, the family’s cat rode to the helicopter with remarkable composure. Before long, photographs of the rescue appeared on television broadcasts, news websites and social media, turning the calm feline into one of the Coast Guard’s most recognizable rescue stories of the year.
The second hoist brought the remaining mariner and the family’s dog. Wearing a flotation vest, the excited passenger completed the final trip safely to the helicopter despite the offshore conditions.
For much of the public, the rescue became a story about two pets.
For the crew, it was another search and rescue case completed exactly as they train for it: bringing everyone safely home.
Another Case Closed
Asked later about rescuing both a dog and a cat on the same mission, Butz laughed.
“It was my first dog and my first cat.”
Then he turned the attention back to the crew.
“The team effort—that’s why we train so hard all the time.”
The rescued family welcomed the New Year ashore instead of aboard a disabled sailboat in deteriorating seas.
At Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, the mission joined thousands of other search and rescue cases completed the same way—through preparation, disciplined execution and teamwork.
The photographs of the dog and cat may always be remembered.
For the crew, it was another launch.
Another rescue.
Two people.
Two pets.
Everyone home.
Watch Video #3
Watch A Search and Rescue to Remember and see how the crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City safely rescued two mariners—and two unforgettable passengers—from a disabled sailboat off Cape Hatteras.
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Photo & Video Credits
Featured video courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard Air Sation Elizabeth City.
Additional reporting and background courtesy of Outer Banks Voice, WTKR News 3 and The Charlotte Observer.