Police, the Coast Guard, local fire departments and a bay constable searched the waters of Merrick Saturday after a Jet Ski without a rider was spotted off the coast.

Justin Mohr, of the Blue Water Yacht Club, says he saw the Jet Ski circling aimlessly in the water. Soon after, he saw the search party arrive after someone called 911.

The fire department received the call at about 9:00 a.m., but fire officials say there is no way of knowing how long the Jet Ski may have been in the water, or how far it may have drifted before people spotted it.

?We had the mechanics here check it out,? Mohr says, ?and they felt that the engine was hot so it was definitely running.?

Fire officials say it is possible that the vehicle could have drifted on its own, but the engine being hot indicates that somebody was possibly riding on it.

According to Ronald Luparello, former chief of the Merrick Fire Department, searchers also found a life jacket in the water.

Fire officials say police were able to determine the name of the Jet Ski's owner, but he was not home when officers tried to reach him.