Officials in Newburyport on Thursday evening suspended the search and rescue effort for a man who went missing in the Merrimack River after he was seen clinging to the side of a small skiff boat on Wednesday morning.

There are no plans for a large-scale search effort to resume at this point, a spokesperson for the Newburyport police and fire departments told MassLive.

Newburyport police and firefighters responded to reports of a person in the river at 8 a.m. Wednesday. Officials told first responders they saw a man clinging to the side of a small skiff boat in the river, said Newburyport City Marshal Matthew Simons and Fire Chief Stephen H. Bradbury III in a joint statement.

First responders found the boat drifting in the river on Wednesday, but could not find the missing person. The se

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