The Coast Guard rescued three people overdue on a boat in James Creek in St. Inigoes, Md., Sunday morning.

Rescued were Luis Montejo, his wife and child, of Silver Spring, Md.

A friend contacted Coast Guard Sector Baltimore watchstanders via cellular phone at approximately 2:30 a.m. reporting Montejo and his family overdue on an 18-foot Bayliner.

Watchstanders worked with Montejo's cellular service provider to narrow a search area between Smith Creek and Point Lookout based on towers his phone had used during recent activity.

A 25-foot response boat crew from Coast Guard Station St. Inigoes, Md., and a rescue helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City, N.J., were dispatched.  The utility boat crew located the vessel at approximately 7 a.m., in James Creek being towed by a Good Samaritan.  The utility boat crew relieved the Good Samaritan and began towing the boat and crew back to Montejo's campsite in Smith Creek.

"Using cellular phone tower information, we were able to isolate the search area and safely locate the vessel," said Petty Officer 1st Class James Morrison, a search and rescue coordinator at Sector Baltimore.

There were no reports of injuries.

The Coast Guard urges mariners to outfit their boat with a functioning marine-band radio as cell phones are typically an unreliable source of communication due to gaps in coverage and limited battery life. Using channel 16 on a marine-band radio is the most reliable way to communicate a distress to search and rescue personnel in the event of an emergency while on the water.