Tyler Doyle Update: SCDNR Findings, SLED Role, and Sonar Claims

More than three years after he vanished, the Tyler Doyle case has no resolution: the 22-year-old duck hunter from Loris, South Carolina, is still missing, his body has never been recovered, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources continues to classify the January 26, 2023 incident near the Little River jetties as a boating accident with no foul play suspected.¹ The South Carolina Law Enforcement Division joined the investigation in late 2023, new sonar allegations surfaced in 2026, and Doyle’s family continues to publicly challenge how the case was handled.

Where the Case Stands in 2026

As of mid-2026, Doyle is listed as a missing person in the NamUs national database under case number MP101798.² SCDNR remains the lead agency, with SLED assisting. No one has been charged. Doyle has not been legally declared dead. The official conclusion of the original investigator, SCDNR’s Ronnie Floyd, written in a February 9, 2023 narrative report, still stands: he had “no information that would lead me to any other conclusion other than that Tyler Doyle is drowned in a boating incident and has yet to be located.”³

SLED has not publicly confirmed any new evidence and continues to defer questions to SCDNR.¹

What Happened on January 26, 2023

Doyle launched his 16-foot aluminum jon boat with his friend Christian Holden for a duck hunting trip near the rock jetties at the South Carolina–North Carolina border. A small-craft advisory was in effect. Seas were running around six feet, water temperature was near 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and the air was near 39.⁴

Doyle dropped Holden on the north jetty, then motored alone toward the south jetty. He called Holden to say his motor had cut out, would not restart, and the boat was taking on water. He also reached a friend who worked as a boat mechanic, describing himself as “panicked and frantic.” Doyle’s last recorded phone activity was at 4:52 p.m. Holden called 911 at 4:56 p.m. and twice reached the Coast Guard.⁵

Responders later found the jon boat nearly vertical in the water with only about a foot of bow visible. On January 31, 2023, Doyle’s waders and wallet were recovered floating roughly two miles off Ocean Isle Beach, North Carolina. The waders were empty, which investigators noted could mean he was not wearing them when he went into the water.⁶ All three life jackets that had been aboard were found inside the submerged boat.

What SCDNR Concluded

The agency’s boating accident report cited “fault of machinery,” “weather,” “hazardous waters” with six-foot waves and strong currents, and “fault of the hull” as contributing factors.³ A post-recovery inspection found hairline fractures in rewelds on the jack plate and a small leak beneath it, identified by Sea Tow during retrieval. Floyd concluded these were “not critical factors” and may have occurred while the boat was standing on end or during towing. Shown a photo of what appeared to be a torn gas line, Floyd described the damage as “jagged” but said it would be difficult to determine whether it happened before or after the sinking.

SCDNR has stated that call logs, 911 recordings, GPS data, and witness statements all back up Holden’s account, and that no foul play is suspected. After Doyle dropped him on the north jetty, Holden was picked up by a North Myrtle Beach rescue boat and later met his girlfriend at a landing to change clothes; a witness there described him as appearing “blue” from hypothermia and said he refused medical transport, insisting he would not leave until Doyle was found.

SLED’s Involvement

In December 2023, SLED joined the investigation at SCDNR’s request. The agency framed its role as helping “explore the missing person’s inquiries” and bringing additional resources, in part because of unsubstantiated sighting reports.⁷ SCDNR remained the lead. SLED’s entry followed sustained pressure from Doyle’s family, including letters to Governor Henry McMaster’s office, and the family also succeeded in having Doyle entered into NamUs.⁸

The Sonar Allegations

The most significant developments since SLED joined involve disputed sonar evidence.

Bradley Smith, director of the Wisconsin-based search-and-recovery nonprofit Wings of Hope, said his team identified a “target of interest” on sonar during the 2023 search. Smith alleged he gave the sonar data and an SD card with coordinates to Floyd, that SCDNR would not allow divers to investigate the target that evening, and that when crews returned the target had moved. Smith also alleged that Floyd never filed the SD card as evidence.⁹

A separate claim surfaced in 2026 on a Facebook page devoted to finding Doyle. A post alleged that a sonar image showed Doyle “lying on the ocean floor” and said the image had been shown privately but never turned over to law enforcement. Doyle’s family alerted SLED, which referred the matter to SCDNR. A SCDNR spokesperson said the agency was “checking into the report.”⁹ The person who posted the image is not affiliated with Wings of Hope, and the claims remain unverified.¹

The Family’s Open Questions

Doyle’s aunt, Shay Boyd, has been the family’s public voice and has challenged SCDNR on several specifics beyond the sonar issue. She has said investigators failed to collect Holden’s waders and weapon, allowing him to hand those items to a third party before they could be processed. She has pointed to an uninvestigated medical bill sent to Doyle’s grandmother from a North Carolina hospital as a missed lead. She has also said SCDNR declined a shrimp boat operator’s offer to drag the ocean floor, citing shrimping laws.¹⁰

Boyd has said she would accept a drowning if the investigation ruled out other possibilities thoroughly, and has raised the question of whether Doyle could have been “accidentally shot” given that the two men were alone. SCDNR has not publicly addressed many of these specific allegations and has cited the ongoing SLED review. Boyd has also pushed for legislation in South Carolina that would require GPS locator bracelets tied to hunting, boating, and fishing licenses.

Doyle’s Wife and Daughter

Lakelyn Doyle was roughly 30 weeks pregnant when her husband disappeared. Their daughter, Paisley Grace, was born in April 2023. Lakelyn moved out of the home the couple had shared on Tyler’s grandparents’ property in June 2023 and has never spoken publicly about the disappearance. Boyd has said the family has had no contact with Lakelyn or the child since she left.¹¹

Lakelyn also stopped accepting donations through a GoFundMe that had raised more than $30,000, citing “immense online harassment.” A Facebook support group tied to the case grew past 87,000 members and became a source of both advocacy and conspiracy content directed at Holden, Lakelyn, and Doyle himself.¹²

If You Have Information

Tyler Doyle’s NamUs listing (MP101798) is the central public record for tips.² SCDNR remains the lead investigating agency, with SLED assisting. Boyd has said she does not intend to stop. “I will never stop fighting for answers about what happened to him because he would do that for me,” she told The U.S. Sun. “I just don’t want his name to be forgotten.”¹³

1
FITSNews. Unsolved Carolinas: The Disappearance of Tyler Doyle
2
NamUs. Missing Person NamUs MP101798
3
WLOS. Tyler Doyle FOIA Documents Reveal Details
4
SCDNR. SCDNR Statement on Tyler Doyle
5
WPDE. Tyler Doyle 911 Calls Released
6
WPDE. Personal Belongings of Missing Duck Hunter Found Near Ocean Isle Beach
7
WMBF News. SLED Joins Investigation Into Missing Boater Tyler Doyle
8
Post and Courier. Boater Tyler Doyle Still Missing
9
Myrtle Beach Online. New Sonar Evidence Allegations in Tyler Doyle Case
10
Myrtle Beach Online. Tyler Doyle Family Questions SCDNR Investigation
11
Post and Courier. Tyler Doyle Missing Boater Little River Inlet
12
The Independent. Tyler Doyle Missing, GoFundMe
13
The U.S. Sun. Missing Hunter Tyler Doyle’s Aunt Speaks