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United States News Title: Philip Merrill appointed by President Bush to head the Import Bank of the United States IS MISSING AFTER SAILBOAT SHOWS UP WITHOUT HIM Philip Merrill, owner of The Capital, missing in the bay By RYAN BAGWELL, Staff Writer Rescue efforts continued today in the search for Capital-Gazette Publisher Philip Merrill after his sailboat was found drifting in the Chesapeake Bay off Breezy Point yesterday. "We are still going strong. We are still actively searching," said Petty Officer John Porter of Coast Guard Station Annapolis. He said a crew on a 41-foot boat had been working since 3 a.m. and was relieved by another boat around 11 a.m. The search started about 7:30 p.m. yesterday when Calvert County firefighters found Mr. Merrill's 42-foot sailboat, the Merrilly, off Breezy Point, which is about 7 miles south of Deale, officials said. No one was on board. A Coast Guard spokesman said Mr. Merrill, 72, set sail about 2:15 p.m. from the Severn River on the blue and white sailboat. He planned to head east before returning home four hours later. At the time, winds were blowing 10 to 20 knots out of the northeast. Mr. Merrill is an accomplished sailor who has operated boats in the bay for decades and it was not unusual for him to go out alone. Firefighters notified Mr. Merrill's family when they found the boat, said Sgt. Jim Eisenhauer, a Natural Resources Police spokesman. The Coast Guard and Natural Resources Police were searching the bay between the Severn River and Chesapeake Beach, said Petty Officer James Rigger, a spokesman for Coast Guard Station Annapolis. Coast Guard and Maryland State Police helicopters were conducting an aerial search while boats scoured the bay. The search continued all night. "The water temperature is in the mid-60s, but that's conducive to good survival rates," Mr. Eisenhauer said. "You got a lot of wind out there tonight, so the wind could be another factor." Mr. Merrill is the owner and publisher of The Capital, The Maryland Gazette, Washingtonian magazine and four other area newspapers. Newspaper officials are keeping a close watch on the search. "We are very concerned and hoping for the best," said James Brown, president and general manager of Capital-Gazette Newspapers. "Our prayers are with the family." Mr. Merrill has combined publishing and public service throughout his career. He has served in six presidential administrations. Until last year, he was chairman of the Export-Import Bank of the United States. He was appointed by President Bush to head the bank in 2002. Before buying Capital-Gazette Communications in 1968, Mr. Merrill had served as a special assistant to the deputy secretary of state, and had worked in the White House on national security issues. He is a member of the Defense Policy Board, the Pentagon's Business Board, was formerly counselor to the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, and was the senior State Department intelligence analyst for South Asia. He also held the highest ranking American position at NATO from 1990 to 1992, serving as assistant secretary-general. Mr. Merrill is a trustee of the Aspen Institute, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Johns Hopkins University and serves on the University of Maryland's Board of Visitors. In 1988, the secretary of defense awarded him the Medal for Distinguished Service, the highest civilian honor given by the Defense Department. He is a graduate of Cornell University, the Harvard Business School's Program for Management Development, and is a former fellow of the Institute for International Affairs of the University of Chicago.
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