Rescuers combed the waters off Chesapeake Beach in northern Calvert County yesterday searching for a 24-year-old man and his 7-year-old stepdaughter who were reported missing after a boat capsized, Maryland Department of Natural Resources officials reported.

Five people were aboard the 16-foot fiberglass vessel when it began taking on water and having engine trouble shortly after 1:30 p.m., said DNR spokeswoman Heather Lynch. It capsized about a mile east of Chesapeake Beach.

Three of the boaters -- Hendrix Stevens, 43, of Hyattsville and his 12- and 14-year-old daughters -- were rescued from the 72-degree water by a passing boater, Coast Guard officials said in a statement.

Stevens, who nearly drowned, was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where he was treated and released. His daughters were taken to Talbot Memorial Hospital in Talbot County, Lynch said.

Rescuers said it was unknown whether the missing pair were wearing life jackets. Maryland law requires children younger than 7 to wear a life jacket if they are above the deck on a moving vessel less than 21 feet in length.

The search by the Coast Guard, state Natural Resources Police, Calvert County Fire and Rescue, two state police helicopters and numerous private vessels was called off last night at 9:49 p.m. Coast Guard officials said the search would resume at 7 a.m. today.

Names of the missing were not released.

Coast Guard marine science technician Daniel Younkin said that yesterday's coastal winds were up to 20 knots and that a small craft advisory had been in effect.