There's a large search underway for a missing boater in the Merrimack River off Newburyport, Massachusetts.

The person's boat was tied up at the dock around 8 a.m. Wednesday when, according to the U.S. Coast Guard, it became loose and the person "entered the water in attempts to recover it."

According to authorities, someone saw the small skiff boat adrift in the river and heard the person yelling for help on the other side of the boat. Then, the yelling suddenly stopped.

"The Reporting party did not see (the) person go under and or resurface," U.S. Coast Guard spokesperson Keira Shantry said in a statement.

"First responders located the boat drifting in the river, and are searching for the occupant," Newburyport police and fire said in a joint statement.

The Coast Guard has a helicop

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