Man disappears in sea near Goodrington during Storm Austen, prompting nine-hour rescue effort

On Friday, October 23, a man captured on CCTV walking from a hotel in shorts and a T-shirt entered the sea near Goodrington as Storm Austen produced winds up to force eight. Torbay RNLI, together with Solent Coastguard, police and Exmouth RNLI, initiated a coordinated nine-hour search, launching the all-weather lifeboat around 6:10 pm and an inshore lifeboat shortly after, while a drone and shoreline crews scanned the coastline.

The operation also responded to a separate distress call from a fisherman whose vessel lost engine power near the cliffs at London Bridge and was towed to harbour. As conditions worsened, the inshore lifeboat was stood down around 9:10 pm, and the search continued offshore until about 2 am. A daylight follow-up at Roundham the next morning also yielded no trace, and volunteers provided hot drinks and food to crews throughout the effort.