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A search was underway Friday for a fisherman who went missing while hauling lobster pots off the coast of Kennebunkport, Maine, a day earlier.
U.S. Coast Guard Commander Frank Kulesa said the USCG Sector Northern New England received a report about 7 p.m. Thursday from the Kennebunkport Police Department of a 64-year-old fisherman who had departed earlier in the day from Turbats Creek Road in a 12-foot aluminum skiff. The man, whose name has not been released, was expected to return to the boat ramp at approximately 3 p.m. but never showed up.
The Coast Guard issued an urgent marine information broadcast later Thursday to notify the maritime community about the missing fisherman and they launched search and rescue assets, including a rotary wing helicopter, a 47-foot motor lifeboat and a 154-foot fast response cutter.
Several state and local agencies, including Kennebunk police, Maine Marine Patrol and the Cape Porpoise Harbormaster, searched Thursday evening into Friday morning, according to Kulesa, who is the search and rescue mission coordinator.
Kulesa said at a press conference on Friday afternoon that the search Thursday night had its inherent challenges and limitations given the time of day, but that the sea and weather conditions were otherwise fairly favorable.
There were small boats, cutters, helicopters and drones out looking for the missing man.
Search crews discovered several items early Friday morning related to the missing fisherman, including his overturned 12-foot aluminum skiff and some items associated with his boat including life jackets, a seat and a fish measuring device, Kulesa said.
According to Kulesa, the overturned skiff was on the rocks, and there were some dents in it.
“I don’t know if that is a result of this circumstance or those were preexisting conditions of the skiff, but it did appear though when we saw it that it had been banged up a little bit, potentially on the rocks,” Kulesa said.
The search was continuing Friday where officials think the man was located — near Walker’s Point up to Turbats Creek.
“As we moved into today, search conditions are fairly good, it’s good visibility, the sea state is good and we don’t have strong winds,” Kulesa said. “One of the challenges in searching this area in Maine is both the large tidal cycle which can be really extreme and fluctuates throughout the day, as well as the rocky coast which makes it difficult for our surface assets or boats to get in close to shore.”
“All indications that we are seeing thus far is that the potential area where the missing fisherman could be is a very tight area close to shore,” he added, noting that they do believe the man was operating closer to the shoreline.
The man’s family told authorities that he is very familiar with the area and that he was out Thursday relocating some of his lobster pots, Kulesa said.
It’s not believed that the man was wearing a wetsuit. They’re unsure at this time if he was wearing a lifejacket.
Kulesa was insistent that this remains a search and rescue operation, though there are concerns about how much time has elapsed given the temperature of the water — around 50 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday.
“We are actively searching right now,” he said. “Water temperature is always a factor and always a concern and it does impact survivability, but I will say at this point in time we are still operating under that this is a search and rescue and we’re going to continue to as long as there’s a chance of survival and search effectiveness, we’re going to continue to put assets out there and look for our missing fisherman.”
Kulesa asked Mainers to keep an eye out if they’re near the area, acknowledging that leveraging the whole community is a benefit in any search and rescue case — but only if it’s safe to do so.
“Thank you to local community, we have a number of fishermen and volunteer responders have come out and aided in the search. We are absolutely focusing on continuing to look and locate this missing fisherman,” he said.
Kulesa asked anyone who is out searching to call their command center or Kennebunkport police if they see anything.
“What we want to make sure though is that when people are helping, that they are doing it safely,” he insisted. “If you’re an experienced mariner and you can get out on your boat and you can look, by all means if you can do that safely, we welcome that assistance, walking shorelines. We just don’t want people taking unnecessary risks at this point in time.”
Kulesa said officials have not discussed timelines at this point, so it was unclear Friday how long this would remain a search and rescue operation.
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