 Although the island was believed to be uninhabited, a periscope reconnaissance the following day spotted three Malays beside a canoe on the beach.To ensure that their stores would remain undiscovered by the natives, one of the officers from the "Porpoise", Lieutenant Walter Carey, remained on Merapas as a guard.The rest of the party stayed in the "Porpoise" which moved off on the evening of 24 September 1944 to capture a native boat.