On the cold morning of January 26, 1994, 20-year-old Jeffrey Marcus Spruill of Norfolk disappeared from the waters off Virginia Beach while attempting a rescue. Employed as a crewman aboard the motor launch Cape Hatteras, he and the launch were ferrying six passengers from Lynnhaven Inlet to the Greek collier Pantelis A. Lemos anchored near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. A passenger, 36-year-old Georgios Dracodaidis, fell from the accommodation ladder into roughly 42-degree water and could not grasp thrown life rings or an oar.

Jeffrey dived in after him, reached Dracodaidis and held him above water until hypothermia and exhaustion overwhelmed them both. A life raft was deployed but both men slipped beneath the surface and never resurfaced. The Virginia Beach Police Department lists Jeffrey as an active missing person. He was posthumously awarded the Carnegie Medal and the U.S. Coast Guard’s Gold Lifesaving Medal.

If anyone witnessed the rescue attempt or has information about the launch Cape Hatteras that night, please share what is known.