COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A privately built submarine that was feared missing in Danish waters has been found and the crew is safe, the Danish navy said Friday.

The 40-ton, nearly 18-meter-long (60-foot-long) submarine with at least two people on board was "found sailing" south of Copenhagen, the navy tweeted. It called off the search for the UC3 Nautilus submarine in the area from Copenhagen to the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm with two helicopters and three ships.

Navy spokesman Christer Haven earlier had said members of the public with boats and sonar equipment were urged to take part in the search.

It wasn't immediately clear why the submarine crew failed to respond to radio contact.

The search had started after authorities got a call early Friday that the submarine hadn't returned to Copenhagen as planned. Owner Peter Madsen, who built the vessel that was launched in 2008, is believed to be on board along with a reporter.

Sweden's coast guard had been on standby with a plane to assist the Danes if needed, said Mattias Lindholm, a spokesman for the Swedish unit.