File photo of a big orange Coastie bird.

A number of Manila residents have contacted the Outpost asking about the Coast Guard helicopter that was recently flying patterns up and down the beach.

Lt. John Briggs of the U.S. Coast Guard tells us that their helicopter was, in fact, doing that. About an hour ago, he said, the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office contacted the guard to ask for help, as it had received reports of an overturned ATV near the surf line. The Coast Guard diverted one copter from a training up in Patrick’s Point to respond to the request.

At about 12:29, Briggs said, the copter reported finding one abandoned ATV upside-down near the water. “They did not find anything to indicate maritime distress,” Briggs said.

The Outpost wondered: was a helicopter really necessary in this case? Couldn’t the Sheriff’s Office have just driven down to take a look? Briggs would only say that his service will always respond to requests from law enforcement that may involve the aforementioned “maritime distress.”

We take a conservative approach,” he said.