Coastguards have called off a search for two boys who were thought to have gone missing from a popular tourist beach.
A three-hour search for the youngsters, aged six and eight, were reported missing after they were last seen on the seafront at Ryde on the Isle of Wight at Monday lunchtime, has now been “stood down,” the Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA).
The MCA tweeted at 4.25pm said: “We’ve searched the sea and shore and we now don’t think there are 2 kids in danger.”
A Coastguard rescue team, helicopter and lifeboat were all involved in the search. Hampshire police said it was triggered when the force was alerted at 1.21pm by Solent Coastguard and said the boys were last seen near local landmark Appley Tower. People were asked to look out for the six-year-old boy, who had dark brown hair, pale skin, dark brown eyes and the eight-year-old had a mole on his left shoulder.
A MCA spokesman said: “It is an area we can search very well with clear visibility.”
“We are confident there is no child out there in difficulty.
“Either it was a hoax or a false report. The parents left the scene after making the report. Did they find the children and then leave without telling anyone?”