Bill Hutchinson / The Chronicle

Firefighters and members of the United States Coast Guard were searching the waters along the Embarcadero near the San Francisco Ferry Building on Saturday afternoon after a kayaker witnessed a person in distress in the water but could not get to him in time to pull him aboard, officials said.

"A kayaker tried to reach the person but could not reach him in time," said Lt. Jonathan Baxter, a spokesman for the San Francisco Fire Department, adding that the person appeared to be in distress when the kayaker saw him.