A frantic search for a boatie missing on the Gold Coast has ended in tragedy, with police retrieving the body of a 55-year-old from the water off Hope Island.

Emergency services were called to the Boykambil Esplanade boat ramp after residents heard a man calling out for help on Sunday about 7.10pm.

It is believed the man, who lived on a sailboat in the Broadwater, had tried to paddle a broken-down tinnie he had been working on onshore back to his vessel, Queensland Police said on Monday.

Police said they later found the power boat empty in Coombabah Creek.

Marine Rescue Queensland crews, water police, the Polair aircraft and a rescue helicopter, as well as the police dive team, launched a search for the man but had to pause until first light on Monday.

That search resumed at 6am.

The body of the 55-year-old was found by officers at the mouth of Saltwater Creek about 8.45am.

Police said the death was not being treated as suspicious and they would prepare a report for the coroner.