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THE family of missing boater Tyler Doyle is still holding on to hope in uncovering what happened to the astute hunter a year after his disappearance.
Sha Doyle Boyd fought back tears as she remembered her nephew, 22, who went missing on January 26, 2023, while duck hunting with a friend at Little River, South Carolina, about 24 miles north of Myrtle Beach.
On Friday, Boyd spoke to The U.S. Sun about how she and her family have dealt with Doyle’s disappearance a year later.
“It’s been very difficult. I don’t even know another person that has gone to go through something like this,” Boyd exclusively told The U.S. Sun.
“Never in a million years thought this would happen to our family, neither to Tyler.
“And then to go through it all and have to fight for answers from law enforcement just made it 10 times worse on our family. It’s truly been the hardest thing we’ve been through in our life.
“My brother, Tyler’s father, he’s suffering tremendously because Tyler was his best friend, and our mom and dad helped raise Tyler, so it’s been just a nightmare for our family.”
‘HE’S DRIFTED OUT’
On the afternoon of January 26, 2023, Doyle and a friend, Christian Holden, 21, venture out to the waters of Little River, searching for ducks onboard a 16-foot Jon boat.
Doyle dropped off Holden on the north jetty, and he went to put out duck decoys, according to records released by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR).
Tragedy struck when Doyle contacted Holden on the phone, saying his boat was having mechanical problems, taking on water fast, and sinking, the SCDNR said.
In a harrowing 911 call, Holden was heard telling the police operator that he was stuck in the ocean and his friend’s boat was sinking.
“The motor cut off on the boat, and it’s drifting out in the ocean, and he’s in it, and it’s sinking,” Holden said.
“I don’t even see him no more. He’s drifted out past the jetties in the ocean.”
Holden hangs up on the operator, telling them he would try to reach Doyle again, only to call back, saying he could not see him anymore.
“I cannot see him. Now I can’t get him to answer,” he said.
About 20 minutes after the first 911 call, responding officers went out to the waters searching for Doyle, only to uncover his empty boat turned on its side.
‘HARD TIME BELIEVING HE DROWNED’
The SCDNR and the city’s Civil Air Patrol scouted the choppy waters for over a month before eventually calling the search for Doyle off in early March 2023.
The SCDNR’s official report ruled out foul play in the disappearance and said Doyle likely drowned after he went overboard.
Boyd said she’s had a hard time believing her nephew drowned that winter afternoon.
“To me, knowing Tyler, knowing how strong, how smart he was, how he grew up in the water, he knew what rip currents were, he knew what to do if he was caught in a rip current, I just have a hard time believing that he drowned,” she told The U.S. Sun.
“The kid in the 911 call even said how he saw Tyler, and he had his life jacket on.”
Doyle’s wanders and wallet were eventually found off the North Carolina coast on January 31, 2023, but no traces of him have ever been found.
Boyd expressed frustration with the pace of the SCDNR and South Carolina Law Enforcement Division’s (SLED) investigation into her nephew’s disappearance, claiming the departments have not been transparent with the family.
The aunt told The U.S. Sun she fought tooth and nail to place Doyle in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons database, which was finally granted in mid-April 2023.
The SCDNR and SLED did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The U.S. Sun.
‘I MISS HIS SMILE’
Since his disappearance, Doyle’s wife has welcomed his daughter last May.
For Boyd, keeping the memory of her nephew alive is her top priority while ensuring everyone remembers how kind-hearted he was.
“Tyler was the most kind-hearted. He can light the whole room up with his smile,” Boyd told The U.S. Sun, as her voice began to crack.
“I miss talking to him; I miss his hugs. No matter what was going on in his life, you could never tell – he was always happy. He could always make you feel better about what you had going on.
“I just hope people will always remember what a good person he was, and if I could do anything, I will never stop fighting for answers about what happened to him because he would do that for me. I just don’t want his name to be forgotten.”
Boyd pleaded with tourists visiting the Myrtle Beach area to keep their eyes peeled for anything that may point them to Doyle.
“We have a lot of people who come here on vacation, and if he really did drown, always be on the lookout for anything, anything that can possibly be a human bone. And if they see something, immediately call 911.”
