MELBOURNE, Fla. — Officials are searching for a boater after his vessel was found on Wednesday evening.

Dale Allan Hossfield, 68, left his residence in Vero Beach, Florida in the morning to retrieve his boat from dry storage in a Fort Pierce, Florida marina, but has not been seen or heard from since, according to local authorities.

It was reported that Hossfield left from the Fort Pierce Inlet at about 2 p.m. on Wednesday, according to the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard then received a report at 5:45 p.m. that a 29-foot boat had washed ashore with the engines still running on Melbourne Beach.

The Coast Guard said they are using the following assets in the search:

• Air Station Miami MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew
• Station Fort Pierce 45-foot response boat
• Station Port Canaveral 45-foot response boat
• Coast Guard Cutter Manowar boat crew
• Coast Guard Cutter Ibis boat crew
• Coast Guard Cutter Skipjack boat crew
• Coast Guard Auxilary Saber-14 aircrew 

Other agencies involved in the search include the Florida Fish and Wildlife and Brevard County Sheriff's Office.

The family said the situation is incredibly strange. The man's niece said her uncle fishes all the time and didn't have any health issues that would keep him from fishing.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Hossfield, contact Coast Guard Miami's command center at 305-535-4472.

This story was originally published by Monica Magalhaes, Meghan McRoberts and Scott Sutton of WPTV in West Palm Beach, Florida.

VERO BEACH, Fla. —

A Vero Beach, Florida, man is frantically trying to get his family out of Afghanistan, believing their work with Americans has put them in danger.

Safi Saleh was born and raised in Afghanistan and moved to the United States in 1982.

But he still has many family members in his original homeland who are now hoping to get out.

“I couldn’t go to sleep. I get up in the night,” Saleh said. “I was like, ‘Gosh, what should I do?’ I need to do something, you know?”

Saleh said he’s most concerned about his nephew, Hanif Ayoube.

Ayoube lives in Afghanistan with his wife and children.

“Everything is shut down,” Saleh said. “He’s locked in his rental place. He said they can’t go anywhere.”

Ayoube is a carpenter, and Saleh said he worked on many projects for the U.S. and coalition forces.

Ayoube believes now that the U.S. is gone, those who worked with Americans have targets on their backs, hunted by the Taliban.

“They don’t have mercy,” Saleh said of the Taliban. “And if I said they are thirsty for our blood, believe me some of them are like that.”

Saleh would know.

After 9/11, he worked for the U.S. Department of Defense as a translator in Afghanistan for 10 years, dealing directly with the Taliban.

Saleh said his nephew wanted to leave Afghanistan with his family during the U.S. evacuation, but they didn’t have the proper paperwork.

He’s asked Saleh to help him get that paperwork so his family can go someplace safe.

Saleh said he’s called members of Congress and he’s filled out forms for the State Department.

So far, he’s had no luck finding help.

“My hands are tied. I’m just trying to do anything,” Saleh said. “If I can save one or two of my family, that would be the best achievement.”