Tony Andeliero, 60, a father, grandfather and experienced skipper remains lost at sea but his family are holding out hope with the search set to resume on Sunday.
“He’s been fishing his whole life. He’s a very experienced fisherman,” Andeliero’s daughter Kayla told 9News.
“They’ve got boats and helicopters and people walking up and down the shore.”
Andeliero set off from the Port Kembla boat ramp yesterday morning.
Almost 12 hours later, his tinnie was found empty, 500 metres off Windang Island, triggering a multi-agency search.
Investigators are trying to work out exactly what time or how Andeliero went overboard.
NSW Police Inspector Will Collins said there were no issues with the vessel itself, which has been seized by police. His car remains parked at Port Kembla.
The search yesterday continued until the early hours of the morning before it resumed again at 6am today. It was then called off this afternoon due to choppy conditions.
“We don’t know where he has left the vessel, where he has entered the water,” Collins said.
“There were lifejackets located in the vessel, so there was safety equipment there, but we can’t actually say if he was wearing a lifejacket.”
The challenge is the vast size of the search area, crews are looking everywhere from Lake Illawarra to the shore and even further out to sea.
The search will resume tomorrow as Andeliero’s family desperately hold hope.